


Take Me As You Please

by chasing_ghosts (Betweenthelines5)



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Champ is Alright, Cheerleader Waverly Earp, F/F, Fluff, Happy Ending, Minor Character Death, Nicole Haught Needs A Hug, Nicole in Leather, Slow Burn Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Will They Ever Kiss?, Willa is Good, badass Nicole
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:54:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 40,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21528655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Betweenthelines5/pseuds/chasing_ghosts
Summary: Waverly swallowed thickly, “Let me see it.”“See what?” Nicole pulled her shirt all the way on. “Waverly, what in the-”“Your tattoo, Nicole Haught, let me see it!” Waverly snapped, impatient. "Now."(AKA the angsty/slow burn Soulmate AU.)
Relationships: Bobo Del Rey | Robert Svane/Willa Earp, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught, Xavier Dolls/Wynonna Earp
Comments: 439
Kudos: 1710





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> I love angst, clearly and I'm so sorry. Here's the Soulmate AU that literally no one asked for but it got stuck in my head and I couldn't let it go. Until my other two stories are finished, I won't be updating this regularly. Thanks for checking it out!

**Monday: March 19, 2019 - Afternoon **

“Nope. No, no, no. Nope.”

Nicole stood in the middle of the locker room, a look of confusion on her face as she stared at Waverly Earp, head cheerleader and most popular girl in school. During Chemistry, thanks to Mattie, chemicals had exploded all over her t-shirt and the redhead had to excuse herself to go change; she was pulling on another shirt when she heard a familiar voice, full of panic. “What?” She asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

Waverly swallowed thickly, “Let me see it.”

“See what?” Nicole pulled her shirt all the way on. “Waverly, what in the-”

“Your tattoo, Nicole Haught, let me see it!” Waverly snapped, impatient. "Now." 

“My soul mark?” Nicole asked, to make sure.

Waverly nodded, “Yes.”

“Uh, alright.” Nicole lifted her t-shirt up, just over her ribcage to reveal her soulmate tattoo; a deputy’s badge with a stack of books directly behind it.

Waverly threw her hands up in the air, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“What?”

Waverly cursed under her breath and without warning, pulled her skirt up and over her thigh to reveal the exact same tattoo as Nicole’s. “That’s why!”

Nicole’s eyes nearly popped out of her head as she saw the identical mark on Waverly’s thigh, “I… whoa.”

“Not whoa!” Waverly spat, “You are _not_ my soulmate.” 

Nicole frowned, “It looks like I am.”

Waverly shook her head, trying her hardest not to stomp her foot in frustration; Nicole Haught, Purgatory’s resident badass/asshole was _not_ her soulmate. “No, this isn’t right, there must be a mistake.”

“Soul marks aren’t a mistake, Waverly.” Nicole said, hoping the disappointment she felt inside her chest wasn’t showing on her face; she had spent her entire life waiting for this moment only to find out that her soulmate was someone who hated her.

Waverly ran a hand through her long, wavy hair, “Yeah, but-”

“I thought you were all about soulmates?” Nicole asked as she slipped her leather jacket on, unable to look at her tattoo any longer. “I’ve heard you talk about it in class.”

“Well yeah, but…”

“You wanted anyone _but_ me.” Nicole nodded, matter of fact. “Got it.”

“Nicole, you don’t even like me.” Waverly said, “Stop looking at me like I’ve murdered your puppy; soul marks are just suggestions.”

“That’s bullshit, and you know it!” Nicole spat, eyes narrowed.

“We can act like this never happened, you know.”

“No, Waverly, we cannot.” Nicole said, “Damn it, I can’t believe this!”

“You and me both.” Waverly grumbled. “Wynonna is gonna lose her shit.”

“Yeah, sure, tell your sister so she can kick my ass.” Nicole sat down on the bench. “Give her another reason to hate me.”

“No one hates you, Nicole.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Nicole mumbled, eyes on the floor. “Ever since I got here, you and your friends have treated me like shit. You never even gave me a chance, you just assumed you knew me and that was that.”

“You punched my sister in the face last year.”

“She hit me first.” Nicole argued. “I was only defending myself.”

“What about Champ, huh?”

“I overheard him talking about you.” Nicole shrugged, “It was disrespectful, and no one should talk about a lady in that way.”

“Oh, so you’re trying to tell me that this whole ‘I’m a badass, fear me’ is just an act.” Waverly rolled her eyes, “Yeah, alright.”

“You know what? Believe whatever you want, Waverly, I don’t owe you shit.” Nicole sighed, defeated. “We’ll act like this never happened and you can go on to be that barmaid in Buenos Aires with Champ, like you’ve always wanted.”

“You don’t know me!”

“You never gave me the chance to!” Nicole stood up, hands up in surrender. “I won’t tell anyone that your soulmate is the school fuck-up, okay? You’ve got three months left of having to deal with me and after that, I promise you won’t ever see me again.”

“Nicole…”

“No, don’t do that.” Nicole said. “Don’t act like you’re sorry when we both know you aren’t. Besides, not all soulmates are together, right?”

“I…”

“Have a good day, Waverly.”

Waverly stared at Nicole for a long while, her mind all over the place as she replayed what happened over and over again in her head. For the last year, she had known Champ wasn’t her soulmate- their marks didn’t match- but he was safe and easy to deal with, knowing there were no expectations of him. On her sixteenth birthday, when her mark showed up and their tattoos didn’t match, they agreed that when one of them finally met their soulmate, they would go their separate ways, no hard feelings.

God, even though she wasn’t the biggest fan of Nicole Haught, she had to admit to herself that she had been pretty shitty to the redhead. Soulmate marks, no matter what they were- tattoos, words written on your skin that showed up on your soulmate, or any other number of things- were never wrong. The Universe knew exactly who your better half was, even if you didn’t, and used the marks as a guide to get you to where you needed to be, to find who you needed to find.

“Wave, you in here?”

“Yeah, I… I’ll be right out, Chrissy.”

“Better hurry, Steph is on a rampage!”

Waverly sighed and grabbed her cheer bag from her locker; she would deal with the disappointment of her soul mark later “I said I'll be right there. I'm Captain and if she knows what's good for her, she'll shut the hell up!

///

“How was school?” Laura Haught, Nicole’s mother asked when she saw her daughter walk into the house.

“I don’t want to talk about.” Nicole said and stormed up the stairs, into her room. She slammed the door and collapsed onto her bed with a sigh, angry, unshed tears in her eyes. God, she was such an idiot to think that anyone would ever want to be with someone like her; she wasn’t very smart, she was known to cause trouble and she only had two friends, if you could call them that. Of course, even if they were destined to be together, Waverly Earp, one of the prettiest girl’s Nicole has ever seen, would never want to be with her.

Since her very first day at Purgatory High two years ago, Nicole hadn’t been very well liked. From her bright fiery red hair, to the way she dressed, to her sexuality that she refused to hide, she had always been an outcast. With the exception of Mattie Perley and John Henry, no one really spoke to her; they thought she was rude and strange and _someone whose kind wasn’t meant for Purgatory,_ all because she stood up for herself. Nicole knew the routine, knew that if she kept her head down and stayed quiet, she could finish out her high school career peacefully but that wasn’t the type of person she was.

She dealt with the hateful words, the looks, all of it, knowing that none of it mattered when there was someone out there that would love her no matter what. Nicole had held onto that for years, the fact that there was a person out there that fit her soul perfectly, someone who would understand her, someone who would never ask her to be anyone other than herself. Those thoughts of what was to come had kept her going but after today, after finally meeting her soulmate, she realized that it was all a huge joke and that the world was even crueler than she thought.

Soulmates, at the end of the day, were shit.

“Honey, you okay?” Laura asked softly as she made her way into the room.

“I met my soulmate today.” Nicole said, voice barely above a whisper.

“What? Sweetheart, that’s great!”

Nicole laughed bitterly, “Yeah, fantastic.”

Laura frowned and came to sit down next to her youngest daughter; she titled Nicole’s head up, forcing her to look at her. “Nic, what happened?”

“It’s Waverly Earp.”

“That girl you’ve had a crush on since we came here?” Laura asked. “Sweetheart, isn’t that good news?”

Nicole shook her head, tears falling onto her torn jeans, “She doesn’t want me. Hell, she doesn’t even like me.”

“Now, I’m sure that’s not true…”

“She said it’s a mistake.”

“Maybe she’s just scared, you’re awfully young and-”

“You met Dad three days after you got your tattoo and you’ve been together ever since, don’t tell me it’s because we’re too young.” Nicole said. “Everyone in town hates me and that’s all there is to it.”

“They don’t know you.” Laura tried to reason. “If they did then they’d see that you’re a really great person and anyone would be lucky to have you as their soulmate.”

“No one ever even gave me a chance.” Nicole said. “I was the first new kid in over six years, not to mention I’m pretty sure I’m the only gay person in Purgatory, and… it’s over and done with, okay? I don't want to talk about it anymore.”

“So, thats it, you’re just giving up?” Laura asked.

“We’re from two completely different worlds, there’s no way it would ever work out.” Nicole tried to tell not only herself but her mother. “Maybe Waverly was right, maybe it’s all a mistake.”

“You used to never be one to give up.”

“Yeah, well, what else am I supposed to do?” Nicole asked. “Just because we’re soulmates, doesn’t mean we automatically fall in love and that’s that. Besides, I punched her sister and got into a fight with her boyfriend, so-”

“Nicole Rayleigh Haught!”

“I have a temper.” Nicole shrugged. “Oops?”

“This is why you got kicked out of your last school!” Laura said, “Why wasn’t I told about this when it happened, huh?”

“I had them call Uncle Jack instead.” Nicole said sheepishly. “Sorry?”

Laura sighed heavily, “Nicole, you can’t use your fists to solve your problems.”

“I had my reasons.” Nicole said. “Wynonna is an asshole and Champ was disrespectful, I couldn’t help it.”

Laura patted Nicole’s knee, knowing it wasn’t the right time to scold her daughter for something that had happened a while ago, “I’m sorry today didn’t work out how you wanted it to, sweet girl.”

“It’s alright.” Nicole said. “Shit happens.”

“Wanna help me with dinner?” Laura stood up. “I’ll make your favorite?”

Nicole shook her head, “I’m not hungry.”  
  


“Nic-”

Nicole gave the older woman a small smile, “I’m good, I just need some time alone.”

Laura nodded, “I’m here if you need me, okay?”

Nicole nodded, “Thank you.”

Laura pressed a kiss to her temple, “Anytime.”

///

Waverly spent the rest of the day feeling like utter shit about her interaction with Nicole earlier in the locker room. For someone who was voted The Nicest Person in Purgatory, she was definitely acting like the shittest. Nicole had been minding her own business when Waverly had walked into the locker room and demanded she show her the full tattoo that she happened to get a glance of on her way to her locker. She mentally kicked herself when she replayed the look on Nicole’s face when Waverly told her that it was a mistake; it was clear that she had really hurt the redhead’s feelings, even though she knows she would never admit it to her.

Truthfully, when it came down to it, the cheerleader knew very little about Nicole, other than the fact that she was a loner, and everyone disliked her. “Shit tickets.” Waverly sighed, frustrated with herself. “Way to go.”

“Hey babe, you okay?” Champ asked, pulling Waverly away from her thoughts as he sat next to her on the bleachers. “You look a little sad.”

“I’ve just had a long day.”

Champ wrapped an arm around her shoulders, “Wanna go grab a bite?”

Waverly shook her head, “I’m exhausted, actually.”

“I can drive you home?”

Waverly turned to look at him,“I found my soulmate today.”

Champ’s eye widened in surprise, “Yeah?”

Waverly nodded, “Nothing to worry about, it’ll never work out.”

Champ frowned, “What, why?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Waverly said. “Just thought you should know.”

“Oh.” Champ rubbed her back, trying to comfort her. “Sorry, Wave.”

“It’s alright.” Waverly sighed. “I’m fine.”

“Who is it?” Champ asked. “They must be at the school if-”

“I can’t tell you.” Waverly said. “In case they want to keep it a secret.”

“Why would anyone want to keep you a secret?” Champ asked, “Anyone would be lucky as hell to have you as a soulmate. You’re sexy, and super smart, and look smokin’ in that outfit.”

Waverly smiled softly at his trying to make her feel better; she wasn’t in love with him, but he could be sweet and was always there for her when she needed him, “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Champ slapped his hands on his knees, “You sure you don’t wanna go grab somethin’ to eat? I promise we can just stare at each other if you want to, yeah?”

“You’re not gonna let me say no, are you?”

Champ shook his head and stood up, “I’m not about to let you go home and sulk in your room all weekend. Come on, I’ll take you to your favorite place.”

Waverly sighed and stood up, interlacing their hands together, “Yeah, okay.”

Champ smiled down at her as they headed out of the gymnasium, “It’ll work out, you know, with your soulmate. My parents hated each other at first but after a little time together, they realized they were perfect together.”

“Until they got divorced.” Waverly deadpanned. “Maybe not the best example.”

Champ shrugged, “They still love each other, it’s just-”

“Your dad has a drinking problem?”

Champ nodded, “Yep.”

“My soulmate… it’s… it’s different.” Waverly climbed into Champ’s truck, “I don’t know them that well but everyone-”

“Since when do you give a shit about what other people think, Wave?” Champ asked, “You’ve been obsessed with soulmates since we were little kids and you’re tellin’ me you aren’t gonna go through with it because other people don’t like them; bullshit.”

“It’s not that easy, Champ.”

“Unless it’s Nicole fuckin’ Haught, I don’t see the problem.” Champ spat. “That fuckin’ freak doesn’t even have a soulmate, I’m sure of it.”

Waverly stiffened at his sudden change in mood; this is exactly what she was afraid of when she found out Nicole was her soulmate, “What? Ha, yeah, right.”

“She acts like she owns the place, walkin’ around in that _stupid_ leather jacket, and what is with that ugly hair, huh? She should dye it, don’t ya think? It’s… so unnatural but so is she, so maybe it fits after all.”

Waverly looked down at her hands, “Yeah…”

“Wynonna pisses me off sometimes but I’m glad she hit that bitch last year.” Champ snarled. “Knock her down a peg or two.”

“Why did Wynonna hit her?” Waverly asked, curious; in that moment she realized she had never asked what happened, just assumed Nicole was at fault.

“Haught was in our spot.” Champ said. “You know, the one under the bleachers that we go to durin’ free period? Anyways, Wynonna was a little drunk and Nicole wouldn’t leave, and you know how she is when she drinks.”

“Nonna hit her because she was there?”

“Nicole refused to leave and Wynonna was already pissed off at Dolls, so she hit her.” Champ shrugged. “Bout near broke her nose, too; it was great.”

“Take me home.” Waverly said suddenly, as they were about to pull into downtown.

Champ glanced at her, a look of confusion on his face, “Why?”

“I… I don’t feel that great.” Waverly said, somewhat honest; she was sick to her stomach at the thought that she had judged Nicole all these years, just like everyone else. “Just hit me.”

Champ cursed under his breath but nodded, heading in the direction of the McCready farm. “I guess I can get my burger later.”

///

**Tuesday: March 19th, 2019 - Midnight**

Later that night, Nicole was in her bed, reading a book, when she heard her phone vibrate on the nightstand. She sighed, irritated at being interrupted at such a good part of the story- if John Henry was texting her to pick him up because Mattie left him at a party _again_ , she was going to kill them both- she picked up her phone and frowned at the unfamiliar number.

**Unknown (11:47pm)** _– Can we talk?_

**Nicole (11:59pm)** – _Who is this?_

**Unknown (12:01am)** – _Sorry, it’s Waverly. Waverly Earp._

**Unknown (12:02am)** – _From school._

Nicole looked at the message for a moment, eyebrows knit in confusion. Why was the head cheerleader texting her? Better yet, how was the head cheerleader texting her? With a sigh, the redhead settled back into her bed and typed out a reply.

**Nicole (12:07am)** – _Thanks for the clarification, not that I needed one._

**Nicole (12:07am)** – _How did you get my number?_  
  


**Unknown (12:14am)** – _I’m the most popular girl in school, I have my ways._

**Nicole (12:15am)** – _Mhm, sure. What do you want?_

**Unknown (12:17am)** – _This soulmate thing is a terrible idea._

Nicole rolled her eyes at Waverly’s words but sent another message in reply.

**Nicole (12:19am)** – _Yes, you’ve made that very clear._

**Unknown (12:31am)** – _But I’ve been thinking and you’re right._

**Nicole (12:34am)** – _About?_  
  


**Unknown (12:35am)** – _I might’ve judged you a little unfairly._

**Nicole (12:37am)** – _You don’t say._

**Unknown (12:46am)** – _Are you always this much of a smart ass?_

**Nicole (12:53am)** – _It’s part of my charm._

**Unknown (12:53am)** – _Can we start over?_

**Nicole (12:57am)** – _Why?_  
  


**Unknown (12:59am)** – _Because I want to._

**Nicole (1:01am)** – _You said it yourself, Waverly, this is a mistake._

**Unknown (1:08am)** – _We can be friends._

**Nicole (1:09am)** – _Why?_

**Unknown (1:11am)** – _The Universe clearly thinks were meant for each other, maybe we’re supposed to be friends or something._

**Nicole (1:15am)** – _Yes, because I’ve spent my entire life waiting for my soulmate, only for us to be just friends. Thanks but no thanks, Waverly; if this is your way of trying to make up for the way you treated me earlier, I’m good. Have a good night._

**Unknown (1:45am)** – _I was shitty to you today, I know that and I’m sorry._

**Unknown (1:46am)** – _This is scary for me, you know._

**Unknown (1:47am)** – _I’ve always thought I liked girls and then I find out we have the same tattoo that tells me you’re my soulmate?_

**Unknown (1:49am)** – _You’re right, I don’t know you._

**Unknown (1:50am)** – _But I think I’d like to._

**Nicole (1:57am)** – _Go to sleep, Waverly. If you still feel like this in a couple of days, when you aren’t feeling as guilty, come and find me._

**Nicole (1:58am)** – _Goodnight_.

Nicole turned her phone to silent, plugged it up to charge and placed it back on her nightstand before returning her attention to her book. After several minutes of reading the same sentence over and over, she gave up on trying to finish the chapter, her mind stuck on a certain brunette.

The redhead slapped a hand to forehead, sighing heavily, “Oh, fuck me.”

///

Waverly sighed at Nicole’s reply and dropped her phone onto her bed; she couldn’t blame the older girl for being upset with her, she had been a dick and a half to her in the locker room. “Fudge nuggets.”

“I can hear your teen angst all the way in my room.” Willa said, as she made her way into Waverly’s room, a smile on her face. “Wanna talk about it?”

Waverly shrugged, “I don’t know.”

Willa shut the door behind herself and climbed into the bed, “Come on, I’m only home on break for a couple more days.”

“Promise not to tell Wynonna?”

Willa nodded, holding her pinky out to her little sister, “Our secret.”

Waverly wrapped her pinky around Willa’s, “Okay… I met my soulmate today.”

Willa’s eyes grew wide at the admission, “What? Wave, that’s great!”

“It’s Nicole Haught.” Waverly said, voice barely above a whisper.

“That redhead who lives near the old factory?” Willa folded her legs underneath herself to get more comfortable. “She’s cute.”

“I… I know.” Waverly ran a hand through her hair. “But everyone hates her.”

“Do you?” Willa asked; she might spend most of her time away at college but thanks to her uncle, she’s kept up to date on almost everything.

“I don’t really know her.” Waverly admitted, “I was so mean to her today.”

“She’s the one who punched Wynne in the face, right?”

Waverly nodded.

“She’s also the one who beat Champ up, right?”

Waverly nodded again.

“Did you ever ask her why?” Willa asked, always one to listen to both sides of the story before she ever made a decision.

“I just assumed that… I don’t know.” Waverly shook her head, ashamed with herself. “All of my friends hate her, and she got into a fight with my sister and my boyfriend and-”

“I don’t know Nicole, but it seems like you don’t either.” Willa said. “We live in a town where everyone judges you before you can even introduce yourself. It’s easy to follow in their footsteps but you know better, Wave and I think if you get to know her, you might think differently. The Universe knows what’s best for us; it wouldn’t place us with someone if we weren’t right for one another.”

“I think she hates me.”

“Don’t assume to know how she feels.” Willa said. “Give it some time and I promise you, things will fall into place.”

“Wynonna hates her.” Waverly said. “If Wynonna finds out…”

“If Wynne starts shit, you let me or Gus know and we’ll take care of it.” Willa said. “It’ll all be okay, one way or another.”

Waverly picked at her comforter, a nervous habit of hers, “I’ve waited my whole life for today and I’m pretty sure I ruined it.”

Willa rolled her eyes as she set more comfortably in the bed, “Plenty of people have met their soulmate in much shittier ways and they’ve ended up just fine. Get some sleep and figure out the rest tomorrow, okay? You don’t have to fix it all in one day.”

“You’re like a walking, talking fortune cookie and I don’t know if I like it.” Waverly said as she cuddled up to her older sister. “But thank you.”

Willa nodded, a smile on her face, “Anytime, Wave. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Waverly relaxed into the blankets, exhausted from the day.

Maybe Willa was right.

Maybe she didn’t have to worry.

Maybe she could fix things before it was too late. 


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, hi, hello everyone! I was not expecting this kind of feedback and I adore each and every one of you. I came up with this idea on a whim, not even thinking that so many people would like it! The pressure is on but I hope to do this justice! I won't be doing regular updates due to two other stories and the fact that I want this perfect so please hold tight! Thanks for all the kudos, comments, bookmarks, it truly means a lot!

**Tuesday: March 19th, 2019 - Morning**

Nicole was in her study hall, trying her hardest to study for her history test that was in three hours, but she couldn’t stop mixing up the dates on certain things and it was pissing her off. She was actually trying to get good grades, to pass her senior year and get out of this hell hole but it was like no matter how hard she tried, she just _wasn’t_ good enough. Miss Lucado thought it was because she didn’t care, that she was too much of a trouble maker to do any good but that was the farthest thing from the truth; it drove her crazy that she put so much effort into it but got nothing out of it.

And It didn’t help that her mind had been on a certain brunette since Friday afternoon, when she had found out who her soulmate was. Something that was meant to be joyous, full of excitement and new beginnings had only brought her dread and a sadness that she couldn’t quite shake. It was a reminder that, even if it was meant to be, it would never happen. Waverly may have texted her over the weekend but that didn’t change a thing; Nicole knew that it was mostly out of pity and if she was being honest, that made it so much worse.

Nicole sighed in frustration and slammed her history textbook closed, running a hand through her short, fiery red hair. “Fuck my life.”

“You okay?”

Nicole looked up and groaned when she saw Waverly Earp standing across from her, “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look like you are.” Waverly said. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Look, Waverly, you don’t have to do this.” Nicole said, “I meant it when I said we could forget all about this.”

“Yeah…” Waverly sat down in the seat opposite of Nicole. “I’m not a good listener and I have a lot to make up for.”

“No, you don’t.” Nicole grumbled; she didn’t need the false hope that things were going to work out only to have her heart broken when she inevitably fell in love and Waverly walked away.

Waverly pulled a baggie from her backpack and slid it across the table to Nicole, “I, uh, got an extra donut this morning and-”

“Waverly, please, don’t.” Nicole ran a hand down her face. “We’re soulmates, yes, but you don’t have to force this.”

Waverly huffed, irritated at being shut down so fast, “You told me to come and find you in a few days if I was still feeling this way. Well, it’s been a few days and here I am.”

“You’re very technical.” Nicole said. “Fantastic.”

“So, is this what you’re upset about?” Waverly nodded towards the history textbook. “I could… help… if you want.”

“I don’t need a tutor.” Nicole said, although that was the farthest thing from the truth; she’s needed a tutor for a while now but she’s too damn proud to admit it.

“You sure about that?” Waverly asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

Nicole collapsed against her chair with a sigh, “Yep.”

“Well, as your friend-”

Nicole scoffed, “We aren’t friends.”

Waverly frowned, “I-”

Nicole looked at Waverly, “You don’t get to spend two years treating me like shit, acting as if me being your soulmate is the worst thing in the world and then turn around and say we’re friends.”

“Nicole, I’m trying here.”

“No, you’re guilty as shit and want to make yourself feel better.” Nicole gathered her things together, shoving them into her bag as she stood up. “You hurt my feelings, Waverly and I know that may be hard to believe but the things you said were shitty and I’m far from over it. You made what was supposed to be the best moment of my life one of the worst, and I don’t know if I can ever forgive you for that.”

Waverly looked down at her hands, ashamed, “Nicole, I’m sorry.”

“It’s going to take a lot more than a donut and an offer to help with my studies before I even think to trust you.” Nicole said. “I’ll see you later.”

Waverly sighed, knowing Nicole had every right to be upset with her. “Yeah, see you later.”

///

**Tuesday: March 19th, 2019 - 11:45AM **

“Who pissed in your cheerios?”

Waverly looked up from her book, “What are you talking about?”

“You’re irritated, why?” Wynonna asked as she sat next to her sister at the lunch table. “Is it Chump?”

“What? No.” Waverly shook her head, “I’m fine.”

“You’re full of shit.” Wynonna said. “Wanna talk about it?”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Waverly snapped. 

Wynonna held her hands up, “Alright, alright, whatever you say.”

Waverly sighed, relieved, “Thank you.”

Wynonna took a bite of her burger, “You’re comin’ to Shorty’s with us tonight, right? For Dolls’ birthday?”

“I still don’t understand why we didn’t celebrate over the weekend.”

Wynonna waved her off, “What’s the fun in that?”

The bell rang, and Waverly stood up, slipping her bag onto her shoulder, “You have a test tomorrow and you need to pass it, you can’t spend the night getting drunk.”

“It’s my senior year, Wave, no one gives a shit.” Wynonna said. “It’ll be fine, okay? I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.”

“Mhm, sure.” Waverly said, “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Seven sharp, baby girl!!”

Waverly rolled her eyes and made her way out of the cafeteria and towards her next class; she turned the corner and gasped loudly when she almost ran into Nicole. She pressed a hand to her chest, “Jesus, Nicole, you scared the crap out of me!”

Nicole looked down at her, “You’re the one who came flying around the corner like you were being chased by a damned serial killer!”

Waverly glared up at her, “I don’t want to be late for class.”

“You still have-” Nicole glanced at her watch, “Four and a half minutes until the late bells rings; I think you’ll be okay.”

“Why are you walking this way?” Waverly asked, “Isn’t Miss Lucado’s class in the opposite direction?”

Nicole shrugged, “Maybe?”

Waverly narrowed her eyes, “You can’t skip your test!”

“How do you know what class I have next?” Nicole asked, an eyebrow raised in question. “You stalkin’ me now?”

“Ha, yeah, right.” Waverly laughed nervously, “No, I’m not stalking you, Nicole! I just spend my study hall with her twice a week to help tutor and grade tests and I’ve seen your name on her roster!”

“I’m kidding, Waverly.” Nicole said, “I don’t really care how you know.”

Waverly frowned, “Oh.”

“Yo, baby, what are you doin’ talkin’ to this freak?” Champ asked, as he made his way over to his girlfriend. He slipped his arms possessively around Waverly’s waist and pulled her tightly against his chest; he had spotted the two of them from across the hall and wasn’t about to miss a chance to mark his territory.

“I was on my way to class-”

“Class? Oh, boo, you should skip me with.” Champ said, his eyes on Nicole as he pressed sloppy kisses against Waverly’s neck. “We could go to my truck-”

“… and that’s my cue to leave.” Nicole said, about to make her way past the couple but a hand reached out and grabbed the collar of her jacket.

“Know that certain things are _off_ limits.” Champ said, voice barely above a whisper as he spoke to the redhead. “What’s mine is mine and you should stay away if you know what’s good for you.”

Nicole stared at him, jaw clenched, “Maybe _your_ property doesn’t appreciate being treated like an object. Now, get your fuckin’ hands off me, Hardy.”

“Guys stop.” Waverly gently pulled Champ off of Nicole. “No fighting, okay, you can’t get suspended again.”

Champ nodded and ran a hand through his hair, “She ain’t worth it anyway.”

Nicole scoffed, “Why don’t you meet me out back, I’ll-”

“Earp, Hardy, Haught, get to class, now!”

Nicole looked at Waverly for a long while before she adjusted her backpack on her shoulder and took off towards the exit. What a fucking joke.

“Why do you have to do that?” Waverly asked as Champ walked her to her next period. “Everyone knows we’re together.”

“I don’t like how she looks at you, baby.” Champ said, a pout on his face. “Besides, you have a soulmate and she’s being disrespectful.”

Waverly’s eyebrows knit in confusion, “How is she being disrespectful to me if she has no idea that I have a soulmate? Only you and Willa know.”

“She looks at you like she wants to… I don’t know, okay, I just don’t like it.” Champ said. “Skip with me?”

Waverly shook her head as they came to a stop outside her Chemistry class, “Not today, okay?”

Champ sighed heavily, “Fine.”

Waverly pressed a half-assed kiss to his cheek and disappeared into her classroom, an unfamiliar feeling in the pit of her stomach. Champ had no care in the world that she found her soulmate, someone that wasn’t him but for some reason he couldn’t stand the fact that Nicole even looked in her direction; it didn’t make sense to the cheerleader at all. Over the years, Waverly had come to accept Champ’s possessiveness- it was a part of who he was, and some time ago, she even liked it but lately, it only made her feel like she was suffocating.

///

**Tuesday: March 19th, 2019 - Evening**

“If mom finds out you skipped again, she’s gonna kill you.”

Nicole looked up from her book with a roll of her eyes, “I don’t care.”

Kayla sat down next to her sister and pulled the book from her hands; she frowned when she saw the title, “How many times are you gonna read this garbage, Cole?”

Nicole crossed her arms with a huff, “It’s not garbage.”

Kayla laughed, “These stupid romance novels, they’re so full of shit.”

“No, they aren’t.” Nicole said, “I like them.”

“You’re such a hopeless romantic.” Kayla said, “It’s adorable.”  
  


Nicole glared at her older sister, “Every day I wake up and wish you would’ve gone to a school out of state.”

“Har har, you’re hilarious.” Kayla said sarcastically. “You gonna tell me why you skipped the rest of the day or-”

“I had a test in history today and I was gonna fail it anyways…”

“How many times do I have to tell you to get a tutor?” Kayla asked. “There’s so many students at the school who can help you; if only you weren’t so damn stubborn.”

“I’ll figure it out, okay?”

“I’m sure you will.” Kayla sat quietly for a while, tapping her hands against her thighs. “So…”

“So…”

“Mom said you found your soulmate?”

Nicole dropped her head against the couch with a loud groan, “Uhhhh.”

Kayla situated herself more comfortably on the couch, “Who is it?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Nicole grumbled. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Look, I know I’m the last person that you should be talking to about this with because I don’t have a soulmate, but… isn’t it supposed to be a good thing?”

“She doesn’t want me.” Nicole shrugged. “There’s not much I can do.”

“What? Why?” Kayla asked, ready to defend her sister at any cost. “If she doesn’t realize how lucky she is to have you as a soulmate, she’s an idiot!”

Nicole laughed softly, “Calm down, tiger, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not and you know it.” Kayla said. “You’ve spent your entire life waiting to meet your soulmate and you’re telling me that this little hussy doesn’t want you, well… fuck her!”

“Waverly isn’t a… she’s not even into girls.”

Kayla’s eyes widened, “Waverly. Waverly Earp?”

Nicole nodded, “Yep.”

“That cute cheerleader that you’ve had a crush on since we first got here?” Kayla asked, intrigued. “Oh, sweetie, that girl is anything but straight.”

“She has a boyfriend-”

Kayla snorted, “Yeah, like that’s ever stopped you before.”

“Shae was single!” Nicole said. “How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“Well, you _thought_ she was single.”

Nicole shoved her sister, “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.” Kayla said, matter of fact.

“Waverly’s made it clear that she doesn’t want… whatever this is.” Nicole said, “Besides, her sister hates me.”

“Who gives a shit, huh?” Kayla asked. “Wynonna Earp is known for trouble and the only reason she hates you is because you don’t let her bully you.”

“Well, I did punch her in the face…”

“You’re two very strong women who refuse to back down from a challenge.” Kayla said, “You’re bound to butt heads. Who knows, you two may even end up the best of friends-”

“Ha, yeah, right!”

“My point, Cole, is that you can’t let other people dictate your life.” Kayla said. “Your soulmates for a reason, whether Waverly Earp wants to believe it or not. If she’s as smart as she looks, she’ll realize that she got really lucky when the Universe gave her you.” 

“I don’t know.”

Kayla slapped Nicole’s knee as she stood up, “Listen, we can continue this pity party but we’re definitely going to go and drink. I won’t let you sit here all night with your teenage angst; we’ll go to Shorty’s.”

“God, no.” Nicole frowned. “It’s karaoke night.”

“What better way to forget your sadness then by listening to drunk hicks sing every degrading country song known to man?” Kayla headed for the stairs, “Six o’clock, yeah? Don’t make me drag you out of the house.”

///

Nicole ran a finger down the bottle of her half-empty beer, sighing heavily. Kayla had ditched her over an hour ago to play a game of pool with the York boys and the younger redhead hadn’t seen her since. Of course Kayla would force Nicole out of the house, only to leave her by herself when a boy or two asked for her attention. Nicole loved her sister dearly but sometimes she wanted to choke the life out of her.

“You always look like a depressed teenager, but this-” Mattie Perley slipped into the seat across from Nicole, motioning towards the several empty bottles on the table. “Is a whole new low.”

“Half of them are Kayla’s.” Nicole grumbled. “Hello to you, too.”

Mattie grabbed Nicole’s beer and downed the rest of it, “You skipped class.”

“As I often do.” The redhead said. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Lucado was sick today so the test was moved to tomorrow.”

“Oh, fuck!” Nicole ran a hand down her face. “I hate my life.” 

Mattie grinned wickedly, “I’m kidding.”

Nicole glared at her, “You’re the absolute worst.”

Mattie shrugged, “I like to see you squirm.”

Nicole was about to speak but was cut off by the bars front doors crashing into the wall with a loud bang. She cursed under her breath when she saw the reasoning behind it- Dolls, Wynonna, Champ, Stephanie, Chrissy, Perry and Waverly had walked into Shorty’s, laughing loudly as they all stumbled towards a corner booth in the back of the room. “Great.”

Mattie rolled her eyes at the group of jocks and cheerleaders; she hated them as much as Nicole, “Well, my night is officially ruined.”

“Can we ever get away from them?” Nicole asked rhetorically.

“Damn small town.” Mattie said, “If only they all weren’t such pricks.”

“Chrissy’s not so bad, well, she doesn’t seem like she is.” Nicole admitted to the dark-haired girl. “A bit of a narc but what can you expect when her dad’s the sheriff?”

“When I was six, she lit my hair on fire because of a dare.”

Nicole’s eyes widened, “What?”

“Waverly Earp, she’s not like them but she’s still no better.” Mattie said, eyes narrowed at the group. “She may not join in on the teasing, but she stands by and lets it happen; I don’t know if that’s better or worse.”

Nicole looked down at her hands, “Yeah.”

“Sorry, I know you have a crush on her.” Mattie said. “I just… I grew up with them and they’re the worst part of this town.”

“I don’t have a crush on her!” Nicole whisper-yelled. “I’m gay, not blind; I happen to think she’s pretty and that’s all.”

“Mhm, yeah, okay.” Mattie said. “Whatever you say, Haught.”

Nicole ran a hand through her hair and stood up, “I’m gonna grab another beer, do you want one?”

“If you’re buying, definitely.”

Nicole nodded and headed towards the bar, going out of her way to avoid the ever-growing table of her peers.

///

A few hours into Dolls birthday party, Waverly excused herself to get some fresh air outside. Bobby Griffin had taken over the karaoke machine half an hour ago, singing so badly that some of the rodeo boys had thrown their empty beer bottles at him. With the exception of Chrissy, Waverly was the only one not drinking and she was about to lose her mind; she hated being sober when her friends and sister were not. Champ and Wynonna had spent the better part of the night arguing over anything and everything, Stephanie kept trying to flirt with the bartender although she wasn’t getting anywhere, and Chrissy was too invested in Perry to notice that Waverly was miserable. God, she was starting to regret being the DD for the night.

Waverly made her way outside and towards the alley, sighing in relief as the cool night air hit her face. She usually didn’t mind crowds, but she wasn’t in the best mood and if she was being honest, she was pretty pissed at herself. Her conversation with Nicole from earlier kept playing in her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more upset she got; she had been such an ass to the redhead. She was stupid to think that a few text messages and a donut would fix things; soulmates or not, she had a lot to make up for. She was Waverly Earp, nicest girl in Purgatory, and Nicole deserved a chance… no one said soulmates couldn’t be friends, right?

“Do you often stand in a dark alleyway, staring off into space?”

Waverly jumped at the voice, “Fuck!”

Nicole chuckled as she dropped her cigarette to the ground, stomping on it with her boot. “You’re jumpy today.”

“You keep sneaking up on me!” Waverly argued.

“In my defense, both times, you came into my space.” Nicole pointed out. “You okay, Earp?”

“My friends are all drunk and I’m sober.” Waverly said. “I’m fantastic.”

“Oh, that’s right, you’re still underage.”

Waverly glared at her, “Only for six more months.”

“Yeah, but most of your friends are gonna be gone by then.” Nicole said. “What’s the fun in that? Drinking alone is depressing.”

“Hey, I know how to have fun all on my own!”

Nicole cocked an eyebrow, a smirk playing at her lips, “Oh, I bet you do. With Champ Hardy as a boyfriend, I feel like you have to have _all_ the fun by yourself.”

Waverly’s jaw dropped, and she felt a blush forming on her cheeks, “That was so inappropriate!”

Nicole shrugged, nonchalant, “Yeah, but you didn’t disagree.”

Waverly clenched her jaw, “You’re infuriating, you know that?”

“Yeah, but I don’t really give a fuck.” Nicole said. “Where is your lap dog, anyway? He’s normally all over you by now…”

“He’s too drunk to even care.”

“Why do you put up with him?” Nicole asked as she pulled another cigarette from her pocket. Once lit, she took a deep inhale, holding the smoke in her lungs for a moment before releasing it with a breath.

“He’s safe.” Waverly said. “He’s nice, most of the time and-”

“If the next few words out of your mouth are about your sex life, I don’t want to hear it.” Nicole shuttered at the thought. “Gross.”

Waverly huffed, irritated, “If you ask me a question, let me answer it!”

Nicole held her hand up, “Sorry.”

“I… I’ve known Champ since I was little.” Waverly told her. “Yeah, he says things he shouldn’t sometimes, and I know he’s slept with a few girls but we’re not soulmates, so does it even matter?”

“It does.” Nicole scoffed. “Soulmate or not, he made a commitment to you and if he’s stepping out on you, he’s a dick.”

“But-”

“I don’t know much about you, Waverly Earp, but I do know that you spend most of your time trying to be what everyone else wants you to be.” Nicole said. “When was the last time you did somethin’ for yourself?”

“I, uh- I’m not sure.” Waverly answered, words barely above a whisper.

“You deserve to be with someone who lifts you up, who’s loyal and respects you. You deserve someone who doesn’t expect you to be anyone other than yourself.” Nicole said simply. “Life’s too short to worry about other people; if you’re not you, you’re everyone else.”

“I never thought of it that way.”

Nicole shrugged, “I’ve never been one to conform, you shouldn’t either.”

“Why are you being nice to me?” Waverly asked. “I was such a jerk to you.”

“If I spent my entire life hating everyone whose ever been shitty to me, I think I’d be pretty damn exhausted, and I’m already sleep deprived.” Nicole said. “Look, it sucks that you’re my soulmate and you don’t want to even give this a try but what can I do? Sure I'm a little pissed because you don't even know me but life goes on, yeah?”

“I hurt you…”

“You did, but that’s okay.” Nicole said, “God, Waverly, I would never ask you to be someone you’re not. I’m not going to try to force something on you because the Universe says so; you aren’t comfortable with me and that’s all there is to it.”

“I-”

“Baby girl get your butt inside, Champ threw up all over the table and stupid Mikey is kicking us out!” Wynonna called from just outside the door. “You gotta drives us home!” 

Waverly sighed, glancing towards her sister “I’ll be right there!”

Wynonna squinted, “What’re you doin’ out here all by yourself, huh?”

“I’m not!” Waverly said. “I’m-”

“I may be drunker than a skunk on the fourth of July but you ain’t got no one else with ya!”

Waverly frowned and turned towards Nicole, only to realize that the redhead was no longer there. “Oh, shit ticket.”

Right when Waverly thought the two of them were making some sort of progress, Wynonna had to unintentionally screw it up. Wonderful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me at katbarrellgivesmegaypanic.tumblr.com


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Life by Motionless In White is definitely Wayhaught's theme song for this entire fic, sorry not sorry. Enjoy!

**Wednesday: March 20th, 2019 - Morning**

“Nicole Haught!”

Nicole cursed under her breath at the familiar voice of her history teacher; with a fake smile, she turned around to greet the older woman, “Miss Lu-”

Miss Lucado held her hand up, “I don’t want to hear your excuses on why you’ve missed my classes lately, whatever the reason, it’s bullshit. I don’t care if you pass my class or not, but do you really want to spend another year here with your peers?”

Nicole adjusted the strap on her shoulder, “Not really, no.”

“I’ve checked with your other teachers and you’re doing _decent_ enough to pass- hell, you can even get into an okay school with the grades you have but not if you don’t pass my class. Graduation is less than three months away; you can still fix things.”

Nicole ran a hand through her hair with a sigh, “I have trouble.”

Lucado shook her head, “That’s what we have tutors for, Haught. I know you’re all about being a badass but this little lifestyle of yours is only going to get you so far. Look, I like you, you aren’t a bad kid most of the time and you have the chance to make something great for yourself.”

Nicole looked down at her shoes, “It isn’t too late?”

“With some extra credit and you coming to my class for the rest of the semester, you’ll do just fine.” Lucado said. “Most of the tutors have been scooped up but there are still a few left.”

“Who do you have?” Nicole asked.

“Tucker Gardener and Waverly Earp are the only ones I can remember at the top of my head.” Lucado told her. “I know Waverly is-”

“Gardener, I’ll take him.” Nicole said, without hesitation; there was no way she was going to let Waverly tutor her, even if that meant she had to deal with a known homophobe who was on his way to being arrested for not knowing that no means no.

Lucado nodded, surprised at her choice, “Alright then, I’ll speak to him. Would it be alright if I gave him your number so you can set up times to meet with each other?”

Nicole nodded, “Sure.”

“Wonderful.” Lucado started towards her classroom. “I’ll see you in _my_ classroom from now on, got it?”

“Yes ma’am.” Nicole said, knowing the woman was right; if she wanted to get out of this hell hole, away from Waverly, she needed to graduate.

///

“Babe, you’ve been in a mood all mornin’ and it’s bringing me down.” Champ pouted, a frown on his face. “What’s wrong with you?”

Waverly paused her cheer routine to look at her boyfriend, “I’m fine.”

Champ snorted, “Yeah, okay.”

Waverly glared at him, hands on her hips, “If you can’t deal with me on my bad days, maybe we shouldn’t be together!”

Champ’s eyes widened, and he clambered off of the bleachers towards the brunette, “Wave, what? No, no, no, you can’t break up with me! I haven’t found my soulmate yet and you don’t even like yours!”

Waverly looked up at him, “You’re only staying with me because you don’t want to be alone?”

Champ shook his head, “That’s not what I meant, I just… I thought… Uh.”

Waverly rolled her eyes,” Unbelievable.”

Champ wrapped strong arms around her, pulling him into her chest, “I’m a little hungover, I’m sorry, please forgive me.”

Waverly relaxed into his arms, only slightly, “Do you think we should keep doing this, Champ? I mean really, knowing that we aren’t soulmates.”

“What’s gotten into you?”

Waverly shoved him away, irritated with everything that had to do with him. “Stop acting like me having feelings is a problem.”

“What? I… Damn Wave, you on your period?”

“Oh my God.” Waverly threw her hands into the air, “You’re an idiot!”

“No need to call me names because you’re sad or whatever!” Champ said. “Ever since you’ve found your soulmate, you’ve been nothin’ but a jerk! You won’t have sex with me, and you barely let me touch you, it’s like-”

“Just because we’re together doesn’t mean I have to be with you twenty-four-seven, or that I’m required to sleep with you whenever you want me to, Champ!” Waverly spat angrily. “This has nothing to do with my soulmate!”

“I think you're right.” Champ said, taking a step back. “I don’t think we should be together anymore. Clearly you’re goin’ through somethin’ and I’m not helping you with… whatever it is.”

Waverly stumbled back at his words, “You’re breaking up with me?”

Champ stuffed his hands into his pockets, “The past couple of days, you’ve seemed pretty miserable and… I know you say it’s not your soulmate, but you forget that I’ve known you all my life, Wave. We’ve known this day would come someday and-”

“But, I-” Waverly sighed; she didn’t know why she was trying to save their relationship; they had planned this a long time ago and it was only a matter of time before they went their separate ways. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Champ said, a dopey grin on his face. “I was a dick.”

Waverly smile softly at him, “Maybe choose your words more carefully next time, yeah? You never know if it’s your soulmate or not.”

Champ hugged her tightly, “We had a good run, right?”

Waverly nodded; with the exception of a few things here and there, Champ had been a decent boyfriend to her, “We’re still friends, Hardy.”

Champ laughed, “Like I’d ever be able to get rid of you Earp’s.”

Waverly kissed his cheek and stepped back, “Lucky us.”

“Does this mean you’re goin’ to fix things with your soulmate?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s an option.” Waverly told him. “I think I’ve ruined any chance of us even being friends.”

“Well then, it’s their loss.” Champ said, “You’re pretty great.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Champ shrugged, “A little bit, I guess.”

The bell rang for their first period and Waverly started to gather her things, “You’re okay, right?”

“Sad, but I’ll get over it.” Champ assured her. “So, no chance you’re gonna tell me who that soulmate of yours is, huh?”

Waverly shook her head as they started out of the gym, “No way in hell.”

///

**Wednesday: March 20th, 2019 - 11:30AM **

“You broke up with each other?” Wynonna asked as she looked between Champ and Waverly during their lunch period. “I definitely didn’t see that comin’, lemme tell you.”

“We’re still friends.” Waverly said. “It was time.

“So, I don’t have to kill Chump here?”

Waverly shook her head, “Nope, all good.”

“Damn, I always love gettin’ to mess up that pretty boy face of his.” Wynonna stabbed her mashed potatoes with a fork. “Tragic.”

“Didn’t you guys have pact that you would only break up if one of you found your soulmate?” Chrissy asked as she looked up from her homework.

Waverly’s eyes went wide, “Well, um…”

“We’ve grown apart.” Champ said easily, “No soulmates yet.”

Chrissy narrowed her eyes, “Kind of random, don’t you think?”

“Well, if you think back on their relationship from the last year, they haven’t been as close as they once were.” Jeremy said, matter of fact. “If I’m being honest, considering your social status, I’m surprised that you two didn’t end up being soulmates.”

Wynonna pulled Waverly into her side, “That’s because my baby sister is way better than some washed up rodeo clown.”

Champ chucked a fry at her, “Asshole!”

“You know I’m right!” Wynonna argued. “You can’t even stay on a bull!”

“You try stayin’ on one of those things, they’ll tear you right off and-”

“Guys, enough!”

Wynonna gave her sister a sheepish look, “Sorry.”

“So, neither of you have found your soulmates?” Chrissy asked, still unsure as to why the most popular couple in school called it quits so suddenly.

“If Wave found her soulmate, she definitely would’ve told me!” Wynonna said, “She wouldn’t keep stuff like that from me, would you baby girl?”

Waverly went to speak but was cut off by a loud crash, she turned to see Nicole up against a wall, Jack Michaels pressed into her, a hand on her throat, “What the hell?”

Wynonna pumped her fist into the air, “Get her, Jack Jack!”

Waverly and everyone else in the room watched in stunned silence as Nicole shoved the football player off of her, “Don’t touch me.” She spat, voice low.

Jack roared in anger and swiped his leg under her foot, causing the redhead to fall to the floor. He rolled his shoulders and with a smirk, kicked Nicole in the ribs, “Watch where you’re goin’ next time, dyke.”

Nicole groaned, “Fucking asshole.” 

Jack grabbed her leather jacket and pulled her onto her feet, “You think you’re hot shit, but you ain’t a damn thing. Your kind, you ain’t welcome here.”

“That’s not what your mom said last ni-” Nicole hissed in pain as her head collided with the brick wall behind her. She knew her nose was bleeding before she even reached up to touch it. “Oh, come on, try it again, I know you can do a lot better than that.”

Jack went to hit her again but was stopped by one of the many teachers who had just decided to show up, “Both of you, that’s enough!” Principal Moody yelled as he pulled Jack off of Nicole. “Haught, get out of here.”

“But-”

“Now.” Lucado said, from just behind him. “Get yourself cleaned up.”

Nicole wiped her bloody nose on her sleeve and stormed out of the lunch room; at least she wasn’t sent to the office this time or suspended for a fight she didn’t start. One minute she had been on her way to grab some food and the next she had been slammed into a wall all because she accidentally walked into Jack Michaels on her way to the cafeteria. Damn jocks thinking that they owned the entire school.

“Nicole!”

Nicole ignored the voice and walked into the bathroom; she grabbed several paper towels and started to clean the blood from her face. “Please don’t come in here, please don’t come in here-”

“What in the hell was that about?”

Nicole looked to the brunette who had followed her into the bathroom, “Just a part of my daily routine, no biggie.”

“Jack is almost twice your size, what were you thinking, huh?”  
  


“I could’ve taken him.”

“You could’ve been hurt!”

Nicole motioned to her face, “Uh…”

Waverly huffed, “You can’t keep getting into fights!”

“First one this week actually.”

Waverly shook her head and grabbed the paper towels from Nicole’s hands, tossing them into the trash. She grabbed the redhead’s chin, and looked over her nose, “Well, it doesn’t look to be broken.”

“I know.” Nicole said, irritated with the woman in front of her. “I’m fine. You can go now, Waverly.”

Waverly wet some paper towels and continued to wipe off the blood, “You gonna tell me what you did to piss him off or-”

Nicole shrugged, “I walked into him.”

Waverly laughed in disbelief, “No, really, what did you do?”

“I, uh, walked into him.” Nicole said again. “He didn’t like it.”

“You’re telling me you got into a fight with him because you accidentally ran into him?” Waverly asked, eyes narrowed in confusion.

“Happens all the time.” Nicole said. “Welcome to the life of being different; everyone thinks you’re a freak and you’re an easy target. I admit I get into fights a lot but often times, it’s because of something like this.”

“I… I didn’t know that… I’m sorry.”

Nicole waved her off, grimacing as Waverly bumped a tender spot, “It happens, you learn to get over it.”

Waverly patted Nicole’s face dry, “There, all better.”

“Thanks?”

“Why did you leave last night?”

“Did you really want Wynonna to see that it was me you were talking to?” Nicole gave her a look. “I’d have more than a bruised nose right now.”

Waverly sighed sadly. “I… I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing.” Nicole said. “It is what it is.”

“I… I broke up with Champ!”

Nicole washed her hands, eyes meeting Waverly’s in the mirror, “Congrats?”

“It was time.” Waverly rocked on her heels. “We aren’t soulmates.”

“No shit.”

Waverly glared at her, “My heart could be broken and you’re being a total ass right now.”

“Is it?” Nicole asked. “Broken, I mean?”  
  


Waverly thought about it for a moment but shook her head, “No, it’s not.”

“Then I’m not being an ass.” Nicole said. “Besides, I told you that you deserve better and I meant that.”

“Do you think that person is you?”  
  


Nicole turned to look at her, “What?”

“It’s just a question…”

“I- God, no.” Nicole laughed bitterly. “I’m fucking terrible.”

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“I’ve told you, you don’t know me.”

“What if I want to?” Waverly asked slowly.

“I would say it’s a terrible idea and that you would only hurt me in the end.” Nicole said. “No thank you.”

“Why do you think it would be me?” Waverly asked, genuinely curious.

“For one, you’re straight-”

“Bisexual.” Waverly corrected. “Just because I’ve never been with a girl doesn’t make me any less bisexual.”

“I… I’m sorry, you’re right.” Nicole said. “You just broke up with a longtime boyfriend, you don’t like me, your sister doesn’t like me and…”

“Friends, that’s all I’m asking.”

“I don’t know.”

“You say it’s me that’s ruining this whole soulmate thing, but you won’t even give us a damn chance! You’re so irritating and I can’t stand it!”

“Join the club!”

“Do you have a remark for everything that I say?”

“Maybe I do!”

“Ugh!” Waverly ran a hand through her hair, “You’re impossible!”

The bell rang, and Nicole headed for the door, “Welp, gotta go.”

“You’re just gonna walk away from me?”  
  


“I have to get to class.” Nicole said simply. “So, yes?”

“It’s history, you always skip it.” Waverly said. “Nice try.”

“Not anymore, not if I want to pass.” Nicole said. “Lucado set me up with a tutor and promised me that if I show up for the rest of the year then I won’t have any problem graduating.”

“A tutor, but… they’ve all been taken except for-”

“You and Gardener.”

“You chose Tucker Gardener over me?” Waverly asked, offended.

Nicole gave her a small smile, “Figured it was the best decision.”

Waverly scoffed, “Of course you did.”

“You can’t get upset with me for not choosing you when just several days ago you wanted nothing to do with me.” Nicole said. “I told you, Waverly, it’s going to take a lot more than a few nice things here and there for me to ever forgive you. Thanks for cleaning my face.”

“I’m trying…”

“Yeah, for now.”

Waverly frowned, “Nicole…”

“Have a good day, Earp.” Nicole said and disappeared into the hallway.

Waverly cursed under her breath; every time she thought they had taken a step forward in the right direction, they ended up taking two steps back. The brunette knew she had a lot to make up for to make things right; Nicole was hurt and stubborn, and no matter what, she wasn’t going to give in easily. If she truly wanted to fix things between them, Waverly was going to have to try a whole lot harder than she originally thought.


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couple of things before we jump in :
> 
> 1\. There is some pretty heavy homophobic shit in this chapter. So if it's not your thing, skip it.
> 
> 2\. I am not complaining in anyway and I adore all the likes, kudos, comments I get from all of you because it means so damn much to me, you have no idea, but I do this for free. Blowing my Tumblr up every single day and asking me over and over again when things will be done, demanding that I release it, isn't not cool. Fanfic writers are the best and we use our free time to bring you these stories so be patient with us. I work constantly and writer's block happens sometimes. Again, I appreciate every single one of you, just wanted to get that out there. Much love.

**Thursday: March 21st, 2019 - Nighttime**

“You need to get drunk.”

“What? Why?” Waverly asked, a look of confusion on her face.

“You’ve been all mopey since you broke up with Chump.” Wynonna dropped the box of pizza that had just been delivered onto the kitchen table and grabbed the whiskey from off the counter. Gus and Curtis were out of town and it was Willa’s last night before she had to return to school, so the three sisters were spending some quality time together before the eldest Earp had to leave.

“I’m not upset.” Waverly slapped Wynonna’s hand away from the pizza and handed her a plate. “Did you wash your hands?”

“Yes, _mother_.” Wynonna grumbled.

Waverly sat down, “Mhm, sure.”

“Look dude, I totally don’t get it because he’s so beneath you… well not anymore, but-” Wynonna took a sip of the whiskey before passing it to Waverly. “You guys were together for a while and it’s okay to be upset.”

“I’m not upset.” Waverly huffed. “I’m just- I’m tired, okay?”

“We’re your sisters, you don’t have to act tough around us.”

“Nonna, I love you, but I really don’t care that Champ and I broke up.” Waverly said honestly. “It was time.”

“Then why do you look so sad, huh? You’ve been up in your room all week and it’s kind of depressing.”

“Why don’t we go watch a movie?” Willa asked, hoping to end the interrogation on her little sister. “I mean, it is my last night here.”

“Oh, don’t act like you’re that upset to be going back to school; the house has thin walls and we hear you on the phone at night with Robert.” Wynonna said, a look of disgust on her face. “I didn’t even know your voice could get that high, Will.”

Willa flipped Wynonna off, “Just because you and Dolls are okay with acting like you hate each other, doesn’t mean everyone else is.”

“It’s only been two weeks, you can’t miss him that much.”

“He’s my fiancée, Wynonna, of course I miss him.”

Waverly sighed in relief at the change of subject; Wynonna often times wouldn’t let things go so she was very grateful for Willa in that moment. “Movie. I think a movie is a wonderful idea!”

“If you pick a documentary, I will hit you with my truck, baby girl.”

“Do you always have to be so violent?” Willa asked as she carried the pizza into the living room.

Wynonna shrugged, “I can’t help that I’m a badass.”

“Don’t you cry every time you see that pet adoption commercial?”

Wynonna glared at Waverly, “You swore to never bring that up!”

“Oops?”

“That’s it. We’re going to watch Jurassic Park and that’s that.”

“Nonna, no!” Waverly whined. “I hate that movie.”

“Exactly.” Wynonna grabbed the remote and collapsed onto the couch. “That’s what you get for speaking of my greatest shame.”

Willa shoved Wynonna’s legs off of the couch so she could sit down. “Will you ever grow up?” She asked as she stole the remote from Wynonna. “… and we are not watching Jurassic Park, you lost the right to pick a movie when you chose that one about a cannibal last week.”

“Oh, come on, it wasn’t that bad!” Wynonna argued. “Pussies.”

“It was disgusting!” Waverly said. “I had nightmares.”

“That gave you nightmares but sleeping with Champ didn’t?”

Waverly grabbed a pillow and hit her in the face with it, “Shut up!”

Wynonna cackled, “Come on, it was a serious question!”

Waverly groaned loudly, “You’re the worst.”

Wynonna pulled Waverly into her side, hugging her tightly. “You love me.”

“Only sometimes.” Waverly grumbled.

“Oh, perfect! I know exactly what we’re going to watch!” Willa said, a mischievous grin on her face. “Wynne, look, it’s your favorite.”

Wynonna looked at the movie selection and cursed “Fuck off; we are not watching Mean Girls, I refuse.”

“Oh, yes you are.” Waverly said. “Sorry sis.”

Wynonna grabbed another slice of pizza and shoved half of it into her mouth, “I’ll get you back for this.” She said, words muffled.

Willa pat her knee, “I’m sure you will.”

Waverly settled more comfortably in between her sisters as the opening scene started- it was one of her favorites, a movie she could always watch when she was overwhelmed or stressed or sad. For two hours, she could sit there and forget about her own drama and focus on something other than the bullshit that had become her life. With all the back and forth between her and Nicole lately, it was nice to have the distraction, even if it was only for a little while.

///

**Friday: March 24th, 2019 - Morning**

“Haught, this is a terrible idea.” John Henry said, a cigarette between his lips. “That boy is a horrible person.”

Nicole tossed the butt of her cigarette to the ground and stomped on it, “I don’t really have a choice, Doc.”

“I know Waverly Earp isn’t your favorite person in the world due to her sister but she’s definitely a step up from Tucker Gardener.”

Nicole shook her head, “I don’t want the drama.”

John sighed, defeated; he knew that the redhead wouldn’t change her mind. “Alright, whatever you say.”

Nicole looked at her watch and cursed, “I’m gonna be late.”

“You shouldn’t even be going at all.”

Nicole glared at him, “Doc-”

John held his hand up, “Yeah, yeah, I’ll drop it.”

“Thank you.” Nicole grabbed her backpack from off the bleachers. “Drinks with Mattie tonight?”

“Will your sister be there?” John asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

“Would you like for her to be?” Nicole asked, refusing to acknowledge the time she walked in on the two of them together at a party a few years back.

“If she shows, it wouldn’t be the worst thing, I don’t suppose.”

Nicole rolled her eyes, “I’ll ask if she’s free.”

John nodded, “Wonderful.”

///

Nicole walked into the library ten minutes after she was supposed to be there, but she didn’t really care that she was late. “Sorry I’m late, I… yeah.” She gave the junior a half-assed apology and started to unzip her backpack.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

Nicole had to refrain from rolling her eyes, “Alright then.”

Tucker cleared his throat and straightened up. “If I’m being honest, I’ll admit I’m a bit surprised that you chose me over Waverly.”

Nicole looked at Tucker as she sat down across from him, “Why?”

“I know that I’m not your type, but-” Tucker paused, a look of disgust on his face. “I see how you look at her, I’m not stupid.”

“Uh?”

“She will never want someone like you.” Tucker said. “She doesn’t know it yet but I’m exactly the person she _needs_. I love her, I can take care of her.”

“You can’t even let a girl settle in before you start spewing your bullshit, can you?” Nicole asked. “Waverly and I aren’t even friends.”

“Do you know that you’re sick?” Tucker blurted out. “Do you?”

Nicole stared at him, a look of disbelief on her face, “What?”

“Your kind, it’s all in your head.” Tucker said, matter of fact. “Why do we have to celebrate a mental illness, hmm? I have anxiety, but you don’t see me begging for a parade.”

Nicole narrowed her eyes, “You’re a fuckin’ idiot.”

“I feel sorry for you.” Tucker said, feigning sympathy. “You think that there is someone out there for you but there isn’t. You’ll be alone, Nicole, like you all should be.”

“Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Doc was right; this was a terrible idea.” Nicole started to gather her things back up. “Stay the hell away from me, dude, you’re a fuckin’ creep.”

“You know that I’m right.” Tucker said, a smile playing at his lips. “I can help you get better, if you’d like, I know a guy.”

Nicole stood up, swinging her backpack onto her shoulder; she didn’t have time for this. “Oh Christ, are you about to preach to me?”

Tucker laughed, “Even God couldn’t save you.”

Nicole snarled and went to punch him in the face but was stopped by small hands wrapping around her arm. She turned to look at who grabbed her, and her face fell, “Waverly.” She sighed. “Great.”

“What are you doing?” Waverly whispered-yelled, not wanting the librarian to get involved in whatever it was that was going on. She was in the middle of returning a book when she saw Nicole close in on Tucker and without a second thought, she made her way over to the redhead, grabbing a hold of her before she could hurt him.

“He’s an asshole.”

“You can’t hit people just because you don’t agree with them.” Waverly told her. “You could get expelled.”

“Yeah, Nicole, you could get _expelled_.”

Nicole looked down at the cheerleader, “He said I was sick.”

“What?” Waverly asked, a look of confusion on her face.

“That’s because you are.” Tucker said, unphased. “Waverly, you shouldn’t be around her, she’s disgusting, she’s-”

“I’m bisexual, Tucker.” Waverly cut him off, hands on her hips. “Do you want to sit there and tell me that I’m disgusting?”

“What? No, you aren’t.” Tucker shook his head in disbelief. “You… you aren’t that way, you’re just confused.”

“Watch your mouth.” Nicole squared her shoulders; she wasn’t above beating the shit out of the Mayor’s son.

Waverly stepped in front of Nicole, hoping it would stop the redhead from doing anything stupid. Tucker’s family was rich and powerful, and Nicole would have hell to pay if she crossed a line. “I’m sorry you feel the way that you do but you’re wrong. Whether I’m with a man or a woman, love is love and what I feel will _always_ be valid.” 

“But-”

“I’ll be speaking to Lucado Monday.” Waverly said as she pulled Nicole towards the exit. “I don’t think you’ll be having those one on one’s with Poppy anymore, Tucker.”

“You can’t do that!” Tucker cried out. “Waverly, I’m sorry, please!”

Nicole looked back at Tucker, a smirk on her face, “Sucks to suck.”

“This isn’t over!” Tucker yelled, eyes angry. “You’ll pay for this!”

“Oh, I hope that I do.” Nicole said before she was unceremoniously dragged out of the library and into the hallway. She barely had time to straighten up before she was pushed away, out of Waverly’s space. “What the-”

“Nicole, do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”

“Shut down a raging homophobe?”  
  


“He isn’t someone to mess with.” Waverly started to pace. “God, do you always have to get into a fight with someone?”

Nicole stared at her, taken aback. “I, uh, are you serious right now?”

“Yes, I’m serious!” Waverly said. “The last person who crossed a Gardener was run out of town.”

“Well then, I don’t see the problem.”

Waverly ran a hand through her hair and sighed, “This isn’t a joke.”

  
“You don’t want me, and this town doesn’t want me either; maybe being run out of town isn’t the worst thing in the world.” Nicole shrugged. “Problem solved for everyone, right?”

“I’m trying to make _something_ work here but you’re just so damn stubborn!”

Nicole sighed and slid down the wall, deciding to get comfortable; from the look that Waverly was giving her, this was going to be a long conversation. “Look. He tore into me as soon as I sat down, okay? What was I supposed to do, huh? I’m sorry, Waverly, but I don’t care if he’s the fuckin’ king of the god damn world, I won’t let him disrespect us like that.”

“Tucker is-”

“I swear if you try and defend him…”

Waverly scoffed, “Ew, no, he’s awful and hell is too good for him. I was just trying to say that you should be careful is all.”

“I’ll be fine.” Nicole said, “He doesn’t scare me.”

“Well, can you at least try not to punch him in the face?”

“I can’t make any promises, Earp.”

Waverly sighed as she sat down on the other side of the hallway, “I guess that’s better than nothing.”

Nicole sat quietly for a long while until a thought crossed her mind and she burst out laughing, “Oh my God. Oh, it hurts!” She said, tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

“Are you okay?” Waverly asked, confused by the sudden change in mood. “What’s so funny?”

“What if- what if Tucker Gardener was _your_ soulmate?” Nicole cackled. “He’s obsessed with you and if you think I’m bad-”

“I would rather die!” Waverly blanched at the thought. “How could you say something like that?”

“Your kids would be ugly as shit.”

Waverly glared at her, offended, “… and you think ours wouldn’t be?”

“Hell no.” Nicole shook her head. “My genes mixed with yours? I’m Haught as hell, get it? Haught-”

Waverly pulled her lower lip between her teeth, trying to hide her smile; Nicole was an idiot. “Shut up.”

“You may hate me-”

“For the last time, I don’t hate you!”

“Okay, okay. Even though you strongly _dislike_ me, you still have eyes and must notice how attractive I am.”

“Wow, you’re cocky.”

Nicole shrugged, “My looks are all I’ve got.”

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“Eh, you wouldn’t know.”

Waverly huffed, “You make me so angry.”

Nicole waggled her eyebrows. “Just think about how fun I would be in the bedroom.”

Waverly’s jaw dropped, “Nicole Haught!”

Nicole laughed, “God, you’re so easy.”

“I am not easy, thank you very much!”

“I didn’t mean… you know what.” Nicole chuckled. “Never mind.”

Waverly blushed. “Oh.”

“Anyways.” Nicole jumped up, adjusting her jacket. “Thanks to you, I no longer have a tutor.”

“Thanks to me?” Waverly glared at her. “How is it my fault?”

“Had to blame someone?”

“I’ll be your tutor.” Waverly stated. “No ifs, ands or buts.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Nicole said.

“Do you want to fail and be stuck here for another year?”

Nicole sighed, “Not really.”

Waverly clapped her hands together, “Fantastic. I’ll see you tomorrow at the library in town at 2pm.”

“What? But tomorrow is Saturday!”

“Good, you know what day of the week it is.” Waverly teased. “I don’t care if it’s the weekend or not, you have a lot of work to do.”

Nicole groaned loudly, “I’ll never escape you, will I?”

Waverly pat the redhead on the arm, “I think you’ll survive.”

“I’ll probably be hungover.”

“That’s fine, I’ll bring some Pedialyte!” Waverly said. “Just in case.”

“You’re not going to let me get out of this, are you?”

“Nope.” Waverly waved goodbye and headed towards the front door. “If you don’t show up, I’ll make your life a living hell, Haught!”

Nicole sighed heavily.

This was not going to end well. 


	5. Five

** Friday: March 22nd, 2019 - Nighttime **

“Let me get this straight, you chose a homophobic douchebag as your tutor, so you wouldn’t have to deal with your soulmate, but still ended up with her because you almost punched him in the face?” Kayla laughed loudly as she collapsed into a booth, her drink sloshing over the sides. “God, you’re such a dramatic lesbian.”

Nicole huffed as she climbed into the booth, a beer in her hands. “Shut up.”

“Nicky’s found a soulmate?” Mattie asked, an eyebrow raised in question as she looked at her friend. “Who is it?”

  
“It’s-”

“Waverly Earp.”

Mattie chocked on her drink, eyes wide, “What?”

“Surprise?” Nicole grumbled, a frown on her face.

“How long have you known?” Mattie asked.

“Couple of weeks.” Kayla answered for her. “Poor girl has her heart broken.”

Nicole scoffed. “My heart isn’t broken, dickhead.”

“It’s okay, Cole, you can admit that you’re in pain.”

“Waverly. Earp.” Mattie was dumbfounded. “Oh my God, you’re fucked.”

“Thanks for the support, Perley.”

Mattie held her hands up in defense, “Sorry man, but I’d rather not have a soulmate then have an Earp. No thank you.”

Nicole downed the rest of her beer, “Don’t worry, she doesn’t want me anyways. Made that clear the day we found out. Beer anyone?” Mattie shook her head and Kayla asked for another mixed drink. “Great, I’ll be back.”

“The Earp’s are terrible.” Mattie said. “Even if Waverly isn’t the worst.”

“Cole’s pretty torn up about it.” Kayla sighed. “She’s waited for her soulmate her entire life. Just… go easy on her, yeah?”

“Definitely.” Mattie nodded. “She won’t get shit from me.”

“Good.”

“Excuse me, ma’am, but could I ask you to a game of pool?”  
  


Kayla rolled her eyes at the familiar voice; she looked up at John. “Think you’re gonna get lucky this time, cowboy?”

John Henry shrugged, “One could only hope.”  
  


Kayla took a final sip of her drink and slid out of the booth, grabbing for Doc’s awaiting hand. “I’ll be back.” She told Mattie before following after the rugged senior, a wicked grin on her face.

Mattie nodded, waving them off, “Yeah, yeah.”

John tipped his hat to her as he was pulled through the crowd.

Mattie shook her head, “Fuckin’ weirdo.”

“Who is?” Nicole asked, a look of confusion on her face as she sat down.

“Everyone in this fuckin’ town.”

Nicole nodded, “You got that right.”

///

**Saturday: March 23rd, 2019 - 2:10PM**

Nicole groaned as the library door slammed loudly behind her; several people stopped to glare at her and she held her hands up in apology. “Sorry.” She cringed at the loudness that was her voice. “Fuck.”

“You’re late.”

Nicole jumped at the voice, hand to her chest, “Shit, Waverly!”

Waverly pointed to the time on her watch, “Ten minutes late, Nicole.”

“Sorry.” Nicole mumbled, voice barely above a whisper as she sat down. “Overslept.” 

Waverly stared at her in disbelief, “It’s 2pm!”

“Killer hangover.” Nicole grumbled, struggling to keep her eyes open.

Waverly rolled her eyes and handed Nicole the Pedialyte she had brought from home. “Drink up, Haught.”

Nicole tore open the bottle and downed half of it, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Nicole stared at her hands, the awkward tension between them too much.

“So, shall we begin?”

Nicole nodded and instantly regretted it when pain shot through her head, “Sure, yeah, totally.”

“Your next test is on World War II.” Waverly pulled out a notebook with all of her notes and started to discuss what Nicole was to expect. “Lucado’s tests are fairly easy, you just have to study for them.”

“Easier said than done.”

Waverly titled her head to the side, “Why’s that?”

Nicole pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, embarrassed. “Don’t know.”

“Yes, you do.” Waverly said. “Come on, Nicole, I’m here to tutor you but I can’t help you if won’t tell me what you need help with.”

“I just… I get confused sometimes.”

“With what?”

Nicole shrugged, “Dates, I guess.”

“That’s a common problem most people have.” Waverly told her, “Nothing we can’t fix, okay? Wynonna has trouble with dates too.”

“Good for her.”

Waverly frowned, “Hey now.”

Nicole sighed, “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.”

  
“I know you don’t like her but…”

“Can we study?” Nicole met hazel eyes. “Please?”

Waverly pulled open her textbook, “Sure.”

“Thank you.” Nicole said softly.

“Mhm.”

Nicole huffed, “Great, now you’re upset with me.”

“I am not.” Waverly argued.

“If being around me makes you so unhappy, why did you offer to help?” Nicole asked. “Was it guilt?”

“You have no idea how I feel.”

“You want to be friends, why?”

Waverly shrugged, “We’re soulmates.”

“Not-” Nicole ran a hand through her hair. “Never mind.”

Waverly narrowed her eyes, “No. What? What were you goin’ to say?”

“Why won’t you give this a chance?” Nicole asked. “Soulmates are soulmates for a reason and- and I just think that we don’t know each other well enough to decide that the Universe is wrong about us.”

Waverly slapped a hand to her forehead, “Nicole…”

Nicole shook her head, a small smile on her face, “No need to explain, Waverly, I just thought I’d ask.” She pulled her own textbook from her backpack. “What page are we on?”

“I’m sorry.” Waverly said, voice soft.

Nicole shrugged, “No sweat, promise.”

///

** Saturday: March 23rd, 2019 - Evening **

“Gus?”  
  


The older woman poked her head out of the kitchen, “Yeah?”

“I found my soulmate.”

Gus stared at her a moment before she disappeared into the kitchen, a minute later she made her way back into the living room. “Sorry, had to put the casserole down real quick.”

Waverly curled her feet under herself, “I’m a little lost.”

“Who is it?” Gus asked.

“Wynonna’s not here, right?”

“With Dolls.” Gus told her. “Why?”

“It’s Nicole Haught.” Waverly said. “Only Willa knows.”

Gus nodded knowingly, “The one Wynonna don’t like.”

Waverly nodded, “I used to think I didn’t like her either.”

“How’d you find out?” Gus asked.

“A couple of weeks ago I walked in on her changing in the locker room.” Waverly said, face flush. “I saw it and freaked out.”

“Why’d you freak out?”

“She’s… she’s different.” Waverly shrugged, “I… don’t know. Champ and Wynonna don’t like her, most of the town doesn’t either.”

“What about you?” Gus asked. “Do you like her?”

“I don’t know her well enough.” Waverly admitted. “I was so horrible to her when I found out and I’ve been trying to make it better but it’s like every time we take one step forward we end up taking a million steps back.”

“Soulmates are a beautiful thing, sweetheart.” Gus said, matter of fact as she rubbed the tattoo on her wrist. “We may not know the reasons why we were assigned to a certain person at first but eventually it all makes sense.”

“I…”

“You have never been one to let other people’s opinions cloud your judgement. Why start now?”

“Wynonna hates her.”

“Wynonna can shove it.” Gus said. “Your sister, God love her, is a drama queen and I’m sure her reasons for disliking this girl are plain dumb.”

Waverly sighed, “I told her we should be friends.”

“Did that not go over well?”

“I told her that’s _all_ we should be.” Waverly said. “I mean, I know it’s not like the movies, you know? Where you meet your soulmate and immediately fall in love, blah blah blah, but… I hate to admit it, Gus, but when I saw her tattoo for the first time, my tattoo burned.”

“Why is that such a bad thing?” Gus asked. “Tattoos that burn, tattoos that want to bring you to your knees, that’s rare. It means that what you two have is powerful, whether you want it to be or not.”

“We don’t have anything in common.” Waverly tried to argue.

“How do you know if you won’t even try?”

“I am trying!” Waverly said. “I’m her tutor!”

Gus rolled her eyes, “Honey, that’s not what I mean, and you know it. I’m not sayin’ to go out and tell her you love her because you don’t, but… for once in your life, do what _you_ want to do.”

“I don’t know what I want to do.”

Gus grabbed Waverly’s hand, “Wave, I’m not sayin’ things will work out because they might not but you’ll never know if you don’t try. The Universe may hate you and is putting you through every damn test imaginable but you don’t know that.”

Waverly laughed, “Thanks Gus, that helps a lot.”

“Champ isn’t your endgame, baby girl.”

“We broke up.”

Gus looked at her, surprised, “What?”

“The other day.” Waverly told her. “It was time.”

“Hmmm.” Gus smiled at her niece. “Listen, being friends is a start but don’t think that’s all you have to be. If it feels right, go for it.”

“What if it doesn’t?” Waverly asked. “What if it feels wrong?”

“You are never the negative one.” Gus said as she stood up, heading back towards the kitchen. “Why are you tryin’ so damn hard to fight this? I don’t know Nicole to give you an opinion on her, but it looks like you don’t know her either.”

“So, you’re saying I should think with my heart?”

“When the time comes.” Gus nodded towards the kitchen table. “Come on, dinner is gettin’ cold.”

///

** Monday: March 25th, 2019 - Morning **

“Hi, my name is Waverly Earp.”

Nicole looked up from her book, a look of confusion on her face. She looked from Waverly to her outstretched hand and back to her face. “Uh. What?”

“I want to start over.” Waverly dropped her hand to her side.

“Why?” Nicole asked.

“I’m sick of the back and forth.” Waverly told her. “I’m sick of saying the same things over and over again to each other. We’re going in circles and it’s not helping anything. We’re soulmates and we have to figure out exactly what that means to us.”

“Um, alright then.” Nicole shoved her book back into her bag and stood up; she held her hand out. “Nicole Rayleigh Haught at your service.”

Waverly snorted, “That is not your middle name.”

Nicole smiled softly, “Believe me, I wish that it wasn’t.”

Waverly shook Nicole’s hand, “Do your parents hate you?”

“Kayla picked it out. My, uh, my older sister.” Nicole said. “Apparently she couldn’t say it correctly… so here we are.”

“That’s-” Waverly laughed. “That’s adorable.”

Nicole shrugged, “Yeah, I guess.”

“Nicole, I’m really sorry for how I’ve been treating you late.” Waverly said. “I’ve been unfair to you and a total bitch and-”

“I’ve not been the best either.” Nicole said. “I’m sorry, too.”

“So, we can start over?”

Nicole nodded, “Associates?”

“Friends…?”

Nicole thought about it, “What if you don’t like who I am?”

“What if you don’t like who _I_ am?”

“Touché, Earp.”

Waverly kicked her foot against the linoleum, “I’ll see you this afternoon?”

“Can we go to the coffee shop?” Nicole asked. “That librarian hates me.”

“You stormed into the library and slammed the door against the wall.”

“In my defense, I didn’t realize I had pushed it open that hard until after it happened.” Nicole said. “Hungover me apologizes.”

“You’ll buy me a drink?”

Nicole shrugged, “Will it keep me away from the library?”

Waverly nodded, “For now.”

“Then I’ll buy you whatever drink you want.” Nicole promised. “Thanks.”

The bell for first period rang, “I gotta go.”

Nicole pulled her bag onto her shoulder, “Same. 4pm?”

Waverly was already halfway to her class, “Try not to be late this time!”

“I can’t make any promises!”

///

“Interesting.” Tucker murmured to himself, a vicious smile on his lips. He was hidden away in an alcove, just a few feet away from Waverly and Nicole; he had heard everything. “I told you this wasn’t over, and you’ve just given me everything that I need to ruin your life, Nicole Haught.”

“Gardener, what the hell are you doing? Get to class!” One of the teachers yelled as she was on her way to her own classroom.

“Sorry Mrs. Smith, I was just… I’m going right now!” Tucker slipped his phone into his pocket, the entire conversation recorded.

Waverly Earp was his and Nicole wasn’t going to stand in the way of that.

No one would.

Tucker hummed happily on his way to class, “Check and mate.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Tucker's newfound information bring Waverly and Nicole closer together or tear them apart?


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a filler chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fuck ya'll, I am so damn sorry I disappeared like that! Writer's block hit me hard and no matter how many times I tried to write this I knew that it wasn't the direction I wanted to take it. Thankfully I'm back and hopefully this time for good. For those of you that have waited and checked up on me, thank you so much! This story will never be abandoned, so don't worry, it just may be sporadically updated. This is a bit of a filler chapter to get things moving but don't forget that this is still a slow burn! Hope you enjoy and again, thank you for waiting.

**Wednesday: April 3rd, 2019 - 7:45PM**

“I’m going into town, I’ll be back later!”

“Where are you off to so late on a school night?” Wynonna asked from the couch, a giant bag of chips in her lap.

“Oh! I have a study session at the coffee shop.” Waverly said, a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach; she wasn’t lying about her tutoring someone, but she was afraid if Wynonna asked too many questions she would get suspicious.

“At this time of night?” Wynonna asked, an eyebrow raised in question. “Dude, please tell me you’re not back chompin’ at the Champ.”

Waverly scrunched her face up in disgust, “What? Ew, no.”

“Alright…” Wynonna gave her a once over. “I’m just sayin’, you could do better, way better. That time I walked in on you guys is stuck in my brain forever and trust me, you don’t want _that_ for the rest of your life.”

“Wynonna, gross, stop.” Waverly grabbed her keys from the bowl off the coffee table. “The person I’m tutoring couldn’t meet until tonight and since I didn’t have any plans, I didn’t mind meeting so late.”

“Okay, sure, whatever you say.” Wynonna pressed play on the television and shoved a handful of chips into her mouth, crumbs falling onto her t-shirt. “Use protection!”

“For the last time, I’m not going to hook up with someone!” Waverly huffed and stormed out of the house. Why did Wynonna always give her the third degree when it came to her life? It was none of her business where she was going and why. Besides, she didn’t need to know that she was meeting Nicole, or that she had canceled plans with Chrissy because the redhead had gotten a double detention and couldn’t meet up until later.

///

Waverly walked into the coffee shop, a small smile on her face when she spotted the redhead in their usual spot in the corner. Nicole was facing away from her, headphones in her ears, fingers tapping against the glass table to a beat Waverly didn’t know. With a shake of her head, she made her way over to their table, tapping the older girl on the shoulder.

Nicole startled and pulled her headphones from her ears, “Waverly, Jesus!”

“I’m sorry.” Waverly apologized. “In my defense, you knew I was coming.”

“Yeah, well, when you’ve been jumped as many times as I have, then you’ll understand why it’s not cool to sneak up behind someone!” Nicole held a hand to her chest, trying to calm her beating heart. 

Waverly frowned, “You’ve been jumped?”

Nicole shrugged, “Only a couple of times, but still.”

“How do you get yourself into so many terrible situations?”

“I have a big mouth and I never know when to shut up?”

Waverly laughed, “That would make sense, yeah.”

Nicole nodded to the seat across from her, “Come on, sit.”

Waverly dropped her bag onto the floor and nodded towards the checkout counter, “Let me get a tea first-”

“Here.” Nicole grabbed one of the cups from the table and shoved it into Waverly’s hands. “I uh, I went ahead and got you one.”

“You did?” Waverly slowly sat down at the table, eyebrows knit together.

“Chamomile tea with honey and vanilla.” Nicole said, matter of fact.

“You know my drink order?” Waverly asked. Sure, they’ve spent almost every day together over the last two weeks due to studying and trying to be friends, but it still took Waverly by surprise that the redhead knew her drink order. Years with Champ and the rodeo star barely even remembered her birthday, much less what some of her favorite things were.

“I do.” Nicole said. “You also have an awful obsession with those nasty vegan donuts but they were all out, so I couldn’t get you one.”

“That’s- that’s really sweet of you.” Waverly took a sip of her drink, humming at the taste. “Thank you, Nicole.”

“Anytime.”

“So.” Waverly pulled several textbooks from her backpack. “You have a huge test tomorrow; what parts are you still worried about?

“Oh, um.” Nicole rubbed at her neck. “All of it?”

Waverly narrowed her eyes, “Really?”

Nicole shook her head, “No, I think I’ve got most of it down, I just want to make sure that I do. Thanks again for meeting me so late, Wave.”

Waverly smiled softly; she didn’t know why Nicole calling her by her nickname made her stomach flip, but she didn’t stop to question it. Over the last couple of weeks spent together, Waverly had learned that Nicole wasn’t who she thought she was at all; the so called badass was actually really laid back, extremely funny, and a huge flirt without meaning to be. It only made Waverly feel worse when she thought back to when they found out they were soulmates; Nicole wasn’t the horrible person she thought she was. Waverly wasn’t sure that she wanted to pursue Nicole in a romantic way, but she didn’t mind the friendship at all, it was nice change from her usual friend group.

“Uh, Wave?” Nicole waved a hand in front of her face. “You in there?”

Waverly blinked, “Hmm? Oh, yeah, sorry.”

Nicole chuckled and relaxed into the chair, “Where’d you go?”

“I um.” Waverly ran a hand through her hair. “Let’s go over chapter thirteen again!”

Nicole stared at her for a moment but nodded, opening her textbook to the right page; she wasn’t going to push the brunette when they were only now just becoming friends.

///

“Why’d you have to serve double detention?” Waverly asked an hour later as they started to gather up their things. “Did you get in another fight?”

“What? No.” Nicole shook her head. “I was late twice this week and instead of sacrificing my Saturday for in school suspension, I took the double detention.”

“Remember to sign up for night classes when you start college in the fall.”

“Not going to college, remember?”

“Oh, right, duh.” Waverly slapped a hand to her forehead. “Sorry.”

“Hey, no biggie.” Nicole told her sincerely. “My dad still asks me all the time about college and I constantly have to remind him I’m not going.”

“Does he not like the fact that you’re going to be a police officer?”

“No, it’s not that, he’s super supportive.” Nicole said. “He just wants to make sure we know what we want and that we don’t regret anything. He asked Kayla a million times if she was sure she wanted to stay local even after she got accepted and started classes; he’s just a worrier.”

Waverly looked down at her phone, sighing at the time. “Shit. I have to go.”

Nicole glanced at her watch, “I didn’t mean to keep you.”

“It’s okay, I just have a cheer meeting in the morning and I have to be there super early.” Waverly tossed the rest of her things into her bag haphazardly. “Good luck on your test tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll do just fine, yeah?”

“Thank you for helping me out.” Nicole said. “It means a lot to me.”

“It was no problem.” Waverly stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “I um… see you tomorrow at school?”

Nicole nodded, “For sure.”

“Awesome! Night!” Waverly grabbed her phone and took off out of the shop.

Nicole shook her head, a smile playing at her lips as she gathered their trash and stood up, tossing the items into the bin. She picked her bag up off the floor and headed out the door, cursing when she slammed into someone. “Fuck, sorry dude.”

“Nicole, what a nice surprise.”

Nicole straightened up at the voice, eyes narrowing as she saw Tucker in front of her. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Um…” Tucker motioned towards the shop. “Getting coffee?”

Nicole clenched her jaw, an unsure feeling in her gut, “Right.”

Tucker pushed his glasses back up his nose, a lazy smirk on his face, “Well, it was nice _seeing_ you Nicole, but I really have to go now.”

Nicole watched the dark-haired boy turn in the direction of the parking lot, “Did you say you were getting coffee?” She asked, suspicious.

“What? Oh, right, _yes_. Coffee.” Tucker turned back around, pushing past her to get to the coffee shop. “Coffee is a must.”

“Whatever you say, man.” Nicole rolled her eyes at the weirdness of the situation and took off towards the parking lot towards her car. Tucker Gardener was the creepiest person she had ever met, and she didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him; there was something about him that rubbed her the wrong way. Even before she pissed him off during their disaster of a study session, she didn’t like him; he wasn’t a good person.

Tucker watched her leave from inside the coffee shop, a wicked grin on his face and his phone clenched tightly in his hands.

///

**Wednesday: April 3rd, 2019 - 10:47PM**

“Nicole Rayleigh Haught.”

Nicole froze at the familiar voice, hand on the front door. “Uh, hello.”

“Double detention, really?”  
  


Nicole shut the door and turned to see her father at the bottom of the stairs, a knowing look on his face. “Okay, listen, I didn’t mean for it to happen…”

“Mhm, sure.” Mackenzie Haught made his way over to his youngest daughter, a playful grin on his face; he pulled the younger girl in for a hug. “Couldn’t even be here when your old man got home.”

Nicole wrapped her arms around his waist, sighing in relief at seeing him for the first time in a month. “I’m sorry, dad.”

  
“You gotta do better, Cole.” Mack pulled back to get a good look at her. “So, your mother tells me you found your soulmate.”

Nicole groaned loudly, “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do.” Kayla said as she walked past the pair, towards the kitchen. “Waverly Earp is your soulmate, remember?”

Nicole glared daggers at her older sister, “I hate you.”

Kayla laughed and disappeared into the other room.

Mack shook his head; he was so happy to be home. “Waverly Earp, huh?”

“What? Mom didn’t tell you?” Nicole sat down on the bottom step.

Mack sat next to her, “Just that you found her, and it didn’t go so well at first.”

Nicole shrugged, “It’s okay I guess, I don’t think she hates me anymore.”

“Yeah? Well, that’s good.”

“She tutors me but that’s about as far as it goes.” Nicole said. “She definitely doesn’t want to be anything more than friends.”

“Sometimes it takes a while.”

“Yeah, but what if things never change?” Nicole asked. “I’m not in love with her or anything, you know? I mean, she’s super pretty and her smile makes me feel things but we’re two completely differently people. I didn’t spend eighteen years of my life waiting for a soulmate only to be fuckin’ pals with her.”

“ _Language._ ”

Nicole looked down at her hands, “Sorry.”

“You only found each other a few weeks ago, give it some time.” Mack said. “Just because you know what you want in a soulmate, doesn’t mean that she does. The Universe has a funny way of bringing people together, sweetheart.”

“I just don’t want to get my hopes up.” Nicole said. “Sure, okay, yes. _Maybe_ I have a teeny, tiny crush on Waverly Earp but-”

“Ha! You finally admitted it!” Kayla jumped out of the kitchen, their mother right behind her, “Mom, you owe me twenty bucks!”

Laura rolled her eyes, “Will you ever grow up?”

Kayla tossed an arm around her mother’s shoulders, “What would be the fun in that?”

Laura sighed and pulled Kayla back into the kitchen, “Come on, the dishes aren’t going to wash themselves.”

Mack chuckled and turned his attention back on Nicole, “They’re a mess.”

  
“Tell me about it.” Nicole grumbled. “At least you get a break from it.”

“Let’s get back to this crush of yours?”

Nicole groaned, running a hand down her face, “Can we not?”

“Do you think she feels the same way?”

“No.” Nicole snorted. “Never will either.”

“Don’t be so negative.” Mack told her. “You don’t know her or her life, okay? You grew up with two parents who were soulmates, so you had a positive take on it. What if she didn’t, hmm? Don’t just to conclusions, it never helps anybody.”

“I-” Nicole sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“It may work out, and it may not.” Mack said. “That doesn’t mean you give up before you even give it a chance. Don’t put so much pressure on things to be perfect.”

Nicole dropped her head onto his shoulder. “I’ll try.”

“You’re a great person and I’m not saying that because you’re my daughter.” Mack said. “You put on this tough girl act but you’re so much more than that. You have such an amazing heart, you’re funny as hell, and you make me proud every single day. Any girl will be lucky to have you as their soulmate, even if you don’t believe that.”

Nicole pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, “Thank you.”

“Anytime, Cole.” Mack squeezed her knee and stood up. “Come on, let’s go see what your mom and sister have gotten into.”

///

**Thursday: April 4th, 2019 - Morning**

“Nicole!”

Nicole paused halfway through the door of her history class; she walked back into the hallway, a look of confusion on her face. “Waverly?”

“Here.” Waverly pushed off the lockers next to the classroom and shoved a textbook into Nicole’s hands. “I accidentally took this home last night.”

Nicole looked down to see her history textbook, “Oh, uh, thanks.”

“Not that you can use it for your test or whatever.” Waverly rocked back on her heels. “Are you nervous?”

“About the test?” Nicole shook her head, “My tutor’s pretty great so I’m not worried.”

“Yeah?”

Nicole nodded, “For sure.”

“That’s good.” Waverly said, “Wouldn’t want you to have a terrible tutor.”

“Don’t think that’s possible with the one I’ve got.” Nicole said, a smirk playing at her lips. “Kinda distracting sometimes but who can blame her when she looks like _that_.”

Waverly rolled her eyes playfully; Nicole flirted with her at the most random times and it drove her insane. Nicole meant no harm, mostly doing it to rile her up and it worked; Waverly never really knew how to reply properly, to flustered to ever think of a reply. “Whatever.”

The final bell rang, and Nicole pointed to her classroom, “I should probably go, otherwise all of that studying will have gone to waste.”

“Good luck!”

Nicole headed back into her class, “Thank you.”

///

“What were you doin’ talkin’ to Nicole Haught earlier?”

Waverly jumped and slammed her locker shut, heart in her throat, “Chrissy, fuck!”

Chrissy stared at her, arms tight against her chest, “Waverly.”

“What?” Waverly huffed.

“Nicole Haught.” Chrissy sat down on the bench. “Why were you with her?”

“Oh, um.” Waverly ran a hand through her hair, “I’m her tutor.”

“Okay, and?”

“I accidentally took home her history textbook and she needed it for class.”

“You hate her.” Chrissy pointed out.

“I don’t… hate her.” Waverly said. “I just didn’t know her all that well.”

“She punched your sister and ex-boyfriend in the face.”

“Technically they deserved it.” Waverly shrugged. “They’re both extremely territorial and they were bound to get hit at one point.”

“How long have you been her tutor?” Chrissy asked.

“Like two weeks.” Waverly said. “Why?”

“Two weeks?” Chrissy was silent for a moment. “Does breaking up with Champ Hardy have anything to do with you tutoring Nicole Haught?”

“Ask what you really want to ask me, Christine Nedley.”

“Is Nicole your soulmate?”

Waverly straightened up, “No.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely not.” Waverly said; she prayed to whatever higher power was out there that her best friend didn’t read too much into it and realize she was lying. It wasn’t that Waverly was ashamed of the redhead, it was just that their friendship was so new, and she wasn’t ready to share it with the entire world yet. She and Nicole were still trying to figure each other out and she didn’t want it to be messed up by her sister and friends who wouldn’t even try to understand.

“I just think it’s strange that you and Champ broke up out of nowhere and then you’re spending time with Nicole Haught of all people.”

“Champ and I were never going to last.” Waverly said. “Why stay together if you both know it’s not meant to be?”

“Okay, true, but-”

“… and Lucado asked me to help Nicole out.” Waverly said. “That’s all.”

“I know you’ve spent all of your life waiting for your soulmate but just know that they’re not always the person you’re meant to be with.”

“You’re only saying that because you’re worried about who you think my soulmate is.” Waverly said, hands on her hips. “Yes, some soulmates don’t last but you and I both know that most of them do.”

Chrissy held her hands up. “You’re right.”

  
“Thank you.”

“You will tell me when you find your soulmate though, right?”

“You’ll be the first to know.” Waverly said, a guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach. Lying wasn’t her strong suit but couldn’t tell the truth, not yet.

“Good.” Chrissy pulled Waverly into a hug. “I bet he’s super hot.”

“Or she.” Waverly said. “You never know.”

“Well either way, they’ll be knocked on their ass when they realize it’s you.” Chrissy slapped Waverly’s ass as they walked towards the gym. “You’re a total babe.”

Waverly laughed, “Shut up!”

  
“It’s true and you know it!”

“You two gonna keep gossipin’ like a bunch of old ladies or are you actually going to start practice sometime today, Waverly?” Stephanie asked from her spot on the floor.

“Does she forget that your captain or…”

Waverly rolled her eyes, “Complaining is the only thing that brings her joy, just let it happen. I think if she stopped micromanaging everyone she would combust.”

Chrissy snorted, “I’d pay to see that.”

Waverly waved several girls over to help with the mats, “Believe me, I would to.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't 100% happy with this chapter but I hope you enjoyed nonetheless.


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feelings? Crushes? Is the slow-burn just beginning? 100%

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me, actually uploading on the day that I said I would. Let's see how many times that doesn't happen from now on. This chapter is super short but it'll all start to pick up shortly, just have to get a few things out here and there and then we'll pick up. Get ready for angst, almost, and a lot of drama. Sorry not sorry.

**Monday: April 8th, 2019 - Afternoon**

“Waverly look!”

Waverly barely had time to pull her shirt over her head before a paper was shoved in her face. She blinked, trying to adjust her vision, and smiled when she realized what was in front of her. “Nicole, you got a B!”

  
“All thanks to you!” Nicole said, “I only missed like three questions!”

“I’m proud of you.”

“Like I said, I have a great tutor.” Nicole put her test back into her backpack. She blushed when she realized Waverly wasn’t wearing any pants and averted her eyes to the locker behind the brunette. “Uh, sorry for interrupting your… yeah, I just know you’re always the last one in here and had to show you.”

Waverly grabbed her cheer skirt and slipped it on quickly, “No, it’s okay!”

“Cool. Cool.” Nicole pointed towards the exit, “Thanks again for your help.”

“See you Monday?”

Nicole met hazel eyes, “Why?”

“For our study session?” Waverly said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You didn’t think our sessions would stop after you passed _one_ test, did you?”

“Oh, well, um.” Nicole shrugged, “Kind of, yeah.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you.” Waverly said. “Unless you don’t want my help.”

“No, I definitely do.” Nicole said, “Lucado started a new subject today and I’ve already mixed up half of the dates. I just didn’t want you to feel like you had to help me.”

“Hey, I don’t mind.” Waverly said sincerely. “Besides, I love history.”

“Believe me, I know.”

“Wave!” Chrissy called from the front of the locker room. “You in here?”

“This is total déjà vu.” Nicole said. “Except this time, you’re the one that’s half dressed and you’re not yelling at me.”

“For the last time, I didn’t yell at you!”

“You kinda did.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Oh, no, you definitely did.” Nicole said, a smirk playing at her lips. “It wasn’t the type of yelling I planned to hear from my soulmate, but I’ll take what I can get.”

Waverly glared up at the redhead, “I hate you.”

“Wave? Hello?”

“I gotta go.” Waverly said, grabbing her cheer bag. “Congratulations on your test, Nicole, I knew you could do it.”

“Thank you.” Nicole watched her go before turning on her heel and heading out the back door, towards the student parking lot. Waverly was proud of her, and if Nicole was being honest with herself, it meant the world to her. School was never her strong suit and to have support from even one person outside of her family, it made her want to do better.

///

**Monday: April 8th, 2019 - Nighttime**

“Honey, you should tell the kids.”

“Do you really think now is the best time to tell them?”

Nicole, who had made her way downstairs to get a drink, paused just outside the living room, out of eyesight. What were here parents talking about?

“Is there ever really a good time to bring something like this up?”

Mack sighed, “No, but… just a few more days, okay? I only got home a few days ago and they deserve some happiness before I ruin it.”

“This isn’t your fault, baby.” Laura said. “We’ll sit them down one day this week before you leave again and tell them what’s going on. They’ve been in the dark for too long and it isn’t fair to them; they need to know what’s going on with their father.”

Kayla skipped down the stairs, about to head into the living room but was pulled into the hall bathroom, eyebrows raised in question as she stared at her sister. “What the fuck, Cole?” She asked, clearly unhappy about the disruption.

“Mom and dad are hiding something from us.”

“What?” Kayla laughed, “No, they aren’t.”

“I overheard them just now in the living room.” Nicole said, unable to hide the worry in her voice. “Mom said we need to know what’s going on but dad said he’ll tell us in a few days.” 

“I’m sure you misunderstood them.”

Nicole narrowed her eyes at her older sister, “I know what I heard, Kay.”

Kayla sighed, “Why don’t we go and ask them?”

“What? No!” Nicole grabbed Kayla’s arm, stopping her from opening the bathroom door. “What if it’s bad? What if they’re getting a divorce or…”

“Dude, if they were getting a divorce, it wouldn’t only have something to do with dad, right?” Kayla tried to reassure her. “It’s probably another job offer.”

“I…” Nicole ran a hand through her hair. “He has been gone a lot lately.”

“See! He’s most likely blown his bosses away and they want him to move to Tokyo permanently, but he doesn’t want to uproot our lives again so he’s having a hard time telling us.” Kayla shrugged. “I could fuck with another country.”

Nicole huffed, “I can’t!”

“Oh, right, you have a soulmate here.” Kayla frowned, “I guess it’s a good thing she doesn’t want you romantically then.”

“Kayla!”

“What?” Kayla rolled her eyes. “Nicole, you’re eighteen years old; you can do what you want. Besides, we don’t even know if that’s what they’re hiding from us.”

“But-”

“We’ll give them until the Friday and if they don’t tell us by then, we’ll just ask.” Kayla suggested. “That gives them five days.”

“Okay.” Nicole nodded. “That’s totally fine.”

“Promise me you won’t spiral.”

Nicole looked down at the floor, “Yep.”

“Nicole.”

Nicole sighed, defeated, “I promise I won’t spiral.”

Kayla squeezed Nicole’s shoulder, “Much better. You’re okay?”

Nicole nodded, “Yeah, thank you.”

Kayla opened the door and stepped into the hallway, “Sure thing, chicken wing.”

“I fuckin’ hate you.”

Kayla laughed loudly, “Come on, Cole, I’ll buy you a beer.”

“We have a six pack in the fridge.”

“Yeah, but Shorty’s is more fun.”

Nicole ran a hand down her face, resigned, “Let me go get ready.”

///

**Tuesday: April 9th, 2019 - Evening**

“You’re awfully quiet today.”

Nicole looked up from her computer, eyebrows knit together, “Hmm?”

“I asked if you wanted a refill twice and you didn’t answer me.” Waverly said, a small smile on her face. “You’re never this quiet.”

“Oh, um.” Nicole shrugged. “It’s nothing.”

“Clearly it’s something or you wouldn’t be on another planet right now.” Waverly said. “What’s wrong, Nicole?”

“I don’t know.” Nicole sat back into her chair, running a hand through her hair. “It’s just my dad. Something’s going on with him but I’m not sure what. My parents were talking the other day about whatever it was, and I overheard them. Mom thinks that he should tell us, but he doesn’t seem like he wants to.”

“Could it be about his job?” Waverly asked. “Doesn’t he travel a lot?”  
  


“Yeah, but he’s normally pretty up front about it.” Nicole told. “My sister thinks it might have something to do with him being offered a job in Tokyo. He’s been gone a lot lately, a lot more than usual, and that happens when he’s about to start up with another company. I just… I know Purgatory isn’t the best place for me but I’m so _sick_ and tired of moving, and Tokyo is so far away.”

“How many times have you moved?” Waverly asked.

“Fourteen.”

“Fourteen?”

“This is the longest we’ve stayed anywhere.” Nicole said. “I know I’m eighteen, but I don’t have anywhere to stay if it is another job and I decide not to go. Purgatory isn’t my forever home, don’t worry, but-”

“ _Nicole_.”

Nicole gave her a sheepish smile, “Sorry, Wave.”

“Maybe it’s not another job.” Waverly shrugged. “Maybe it’s something else.”

“Yeah, but what?” Nicole asked, her mind all over the place. Despite what many people thought she was extremely close with her family and the thought that something could be terribly wrong with any of them, it made her anxiety sky rocket.

“Why don’t you ask them about?” Waverly suggested. “There’s no reason you have to worry yourself to death over something if it turns out to be nothing.”

“Kayla said we’ll give them a few more days to come to us but if they don’t we’ll go to them.” Nicole tapped her fingers absentmindedly onto her keyboard. “I’m sorry, Wave. We’re here to study and you don’t need to hear about my issues.”

“Hey, don’t do that.” Waverly grabbed Nicole’s hand, squeezing gently. ‘We’re friends and friends care about each other, okay?”

Nicole nodded, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Waverly said. “If you ever need to talk again, I’m here.”

Nicole, eyes focused on their hands, nodded again, “Sure, yeah, totally.”

Waverly, realizing that they were still touching, pulled her hand away, a blush forming on her cheeks, “I, um-”

“You said refills. I’ll- I’ll go and get them, yeah? Okay, great.” Nicole stood up quickly, grabbing her wallet from her backpack, and heading towards the counter.

Waverly stared after her, a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. Being friends with Nicole was a lot better than she could’ve ever expected. Yes, friends. Only friends and not a single thing more. Nope. Never. Waverly definitely hadn’t formed a teeny tiny crush on the redhead, her freakin’ _soulmate_ of all people.

The brunette pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing in defeat. “Fuck.”

///

** Tuesday: April 9th, 2019 - 11:43PM **

“I’m screwed! God, I’m so screwed.”

“ _Let me get this straight._ ” Willa said through the phone. “ _You’re panicking because you just realized tonight that you have a crush on your soulmate?”_

“Yes, Willa, I know how stupid I sound!” Waverly said, exasperated as she collapsed onto her bed. “Nicole doesn’t like me like that and she never will! I was just now getting used to us being soulmates because I thought there was no possible way I could ever see her like _that_!”

“ _I’m as straight as they come but even I have eyes and only knew it was a matter of time before you felt something for her. I mean, look at her, she’s hot_!” Willa said. “ _Wave, crushes and feelings are two completely different things, so there’s no need to freak out just yet, okay. I mean, you’ve never even hung out outside of school or studying; how do you know that you even like her like that and you’re not just subconsciously trying to make this whole soulmate thing work?”_

“I don’t know.”

“ _All I’m trying to say is that maybe you guys should spend time together outside of anything to do with school and see how you feel after that_.” Willa said. “ _Don’t freak out unless there’s an actual reason to freak out, Wave. You may spend some time with her and realize she’s not a person you would want to spend the rest of your life with_.”

“This is scary.” Waverly admitted softly, words barely above a whisper. “I’ve always liked girls, and I’ve had a few crushes here and there but this… this is my soulmate we’re talking about, Will.”

“ _You’ve spent your entire life trying to cater to other people_.” Willa said. “ _Sweet girl, it’s time that you live your life for yourself. Forget about Wynonna and your friends for a second, alright? High school doesn’t last forever and whether she’ll admit it or not, Wynne will get over it eventually. What’s stopping you from taking that next step and finding some happiness for yourself?_

“Fear?”

Willa laughed, “ _Well, I didn’t expect you to be so honest so fast_.”

“Shut up.” Waverly grumbled. “I’m serious.”

“ _I know you are_.” Willa said. “ _Waverly, you’re the best person I know, and you deserve to have someone who loves you for you. You’re above Champ and all those other idiots you call your friends. Nicole is different, but maybe that’s a good thing. Ask her to hang out with you outside of school and see how it goes; you have to take that first step_.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“ _Either way, you’re meant to be in each other’s lives_.” Willa said. “ _If it’s only a crush, it’ll go away but if it’s meant to be something more then it’ll happen when it’s supposed to happen_.”

_“_ Has anyone ever told you that ever since you found Robert you’ve been annoyingly positive?” Waverly asked, a playful sound to her voice.

“ _I can still make you walk a beam, Waverly Earp, don’t test me_.”

“I’m taller now, so the fall wouldn’t be as bad.”

Willa snorted out a laugh, “ _Not by much_.”

“Hey!”

“ _Think about what I said, yeah_?” Willa said. “ _Communication is key and right now, you’re lucky. This is new, and feelings aren’t involved yet so you can be upfront and the odds are that no one will get hurt if things don’t work out_.”

“I already hurt her once before.”

“ _Because of your reaction_.” Willa said. “ _You never know, she may have gotten to know you and doesn’t like you like that at all_.”

Waverly groaned, “Thanks for that.”

“ _Talk. To. Her_.” Willa said. “ _See how you feel about her after spending time with her doing normal teenage things and then if you want it to go somewhere, tell her_.”

“You act like it’s that easy.”

“ _It is_.” Willa said. “ _From what little you’ve told me about her, she likes when people are upfront with her. I gotta go, Wave, just ask her to hang out tomorrow when you’re at school and go from there_.”

“Okay, I will.” Waverly said. “Thank you.”

“ _Anytime, baby sis_.” Willa said. “ _Goodnight_!”

“Goodnight.” Waverly said and hung up the phone. Fears be damned, she was going to ask Nicole to hang out with her outside of school and hope that the redhead would say yes. Willa was right, crushes and feelings were two completely different things, but they were soulmates and maybe it was time to figure out what that actually meant.

///

**Wednesday: April 10th, 2019 - Afternoon**

“You want to hang out with me outside of school? Like no tutoring sessions or anything?” Nicole asked, a little taken aback. “Really?”

“Yes, Nicole.” Waverly said; they were in an abandoned classroom on the opposite side of the school. “I’m sick and tired of being at the coffee shop all the time and thought we could switch it up.”

Nicole shrugged, “Okay, sure.”

“Seriously?”

Nicole nodded, “I’m assuming we’ll hang out at my house unless you’re actually wanting to have me murdered and want to hang out at your place?”

Waverly glared up at her, “I’m trying to be genuine here.”

“Yeah, I know.” Nicole laughed. “I’m just messin’ with you.”

“Does tomorrow after school work?”

“I’m not really a planner but I guess that’s fine.” Nicole shrugged. “Works for me.”

“Okay, great.” Waverly nodded, “I’ll see you tomorrow after school then.”

“What about our study session?” Nicole asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

“Oh, right, that.” Waverly said.” We can reschedule.”

“You sure?”

“Yep, totally!” The brunette nodded, matter of fact. “See you tomorrow!”

Nicole laughed at the younger girl, “Sure thing, Wave.”


	8. Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a two part chapter, so we'll pick right back up where we left off in the next one. Sorry in advance for the cliffhanger. Much love!

**Thursday: April 11th, 2019 - 5:47PM**

“Who are you gettin’ dressed up for?” Wynonna leaned up against the doorframe of Waverly’s bedroom door, an eyebrow raised in question as she gave her little sister a once over. “Hot date tonight?”  
  


Waverly met her eyes through the mirror, “No, it’s not a date.”

“Do you want it to be?”

“Can I go out one time without you asking me a billion questions?” Waverly asked, a little irritated; even Gus and Curtis never asked her so many things. “I’m going to hang out with a friend, that’s all.”

“Mhm, sure.” Wynonna made her way into the room and sat down on the bed. “I totally get dressed up for my _friends_ too.”

“I wear stuff like this every day.” Waverly glanced at her outfit once more: a flowy white crop top with dark jeans and brown boots. “Do you even pay attention to me?”

Wynonna shrugged, “Sometimes?”

Waverly rolled her eyes, “You’re unbelievable.”

“I’m just worried about you, okay? You’ve been super secretive lately and I want to make sure you’re okay.” Wynonna said. “You’re not like pregnant or anything, right?”

“No, Wynonna, I’m not fuckin’ pregnant, Jesus.” Waverly blanched at the thought. “I do have a life outside of our group of friends, you know.”

Wynonna held her hands up, “Alright, alright, whatever you say.”

“Honestly though, have I ever kept secrets from you?”

“Well, no but-”

“Exactly.” Waverly said, ignoring the guilt she felt; she _was_ keeping a certain secret from Wynonna but for good reason. “I’m not hiding anything from you, so you don’t have to keep pestering me about my life.”

“Okay, fine.” Wynonna huffed. “I believe you.”

“Thank you!”

“… but you’re totally goin’ to bang someone, aren’t you?”

“ _Wynonna_!” Waverly hissed. “Stop it!”

Wynonna cackled loudly, “I’m sorry, baby girl, I had to.”

Waverly grabbed her purse and her keys, pushing past her older sister, “You’re the worst sometimes, you know that?”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t.”

“I’ll be home late.” Waverly said. “Don’t wait up for me.”

///

**Thursday: April 10th, 2019 - 6:15PM**

Waverly pulled into the driveway and stepped out of the car, taken aback by the beauty of the house in front of her. It was in one of Purgatory’s richer neighborhoods, on the north side of town: it was a two-story brick house with massive windows and a three-car garage, a fenced in back yard and a front door that Waverly knew had to of cost a ton of money. Waverly knew Nicole’s parents had money due to her dad’s job and her mother being a charge nurse at the local hospital, but she didn’t realize how much until she saw their house. Compared to the McCready farm and the old Homestead she grew up on, Nicole’s family clearly had it made.

“Wave, hey.” Nicole greeted as she made her way out of the garage, grease and dirt all over her face and arms. “Sorry. I lost track of time and didn’t realize how late it was until I saw you pull up.”

“Oh, um, that’s okay.” Waverly said, turning to face the redhead; she swallowed thickly at seeing Nicole’s uncovered arms, flexing and unflexing due to heavy work. “If you need to reschedule or whatever…”

“No, no it’s okay.” Nicole wiped her face on her t-shirt, exposing her abs. “I’m fixing up an old car, but I’ve got all weekend to do that. Come on, we can go inside.”

Waverly nodded, “Only if you’re sure.”

“Of course.” Nicole typed in a code on the side of the house to close the garage and headed up the brick walkway, into the house. “Would it be okay if I went to take a shower really quick? No one else is here; I promise I won’t take long.”

“Sure.” Waverly said. “That’s fine.”

“Awesome. Uh, just make yourself at home.” Nicole said. “The remotes are all on the mantel and there’s a bunch of take out menus on the coffee table. Choose whatever you want for dinner, I’m okay with anything.”

“I, um…”

“There’s a couple of vegan places in there as well.” Nicole told her as she headed for the stairs. “Alright. Ten minutes and I’ll be right back.”

Waverly nodded, “Okay, thanks.”

///

Nicole made her way downstairs less than ten minutes later, dressed and ready for a night of doing absolutely nothing with the person she’s had a crush on since she came to Purgatory. “Did you figure out dinner?”

Waverly stared at her, eyes wide as she took in the redhead’s outfit; instead of the normal band tees and leather jacket, Nicole was in a dark blue button up, torn skinny jeans and converse sneakers. “I uh.” She cleared her throat. “Yes, I think so.”

“Okay, cool.” Nicole disappeared into the kitchen momentarily only to return with a six pack of beer. “It’s vegan or whatever.”

Waverly smiled up at her, “You didn’t have to go out of your way to get vegan beer.”

Nicole shrugged as she sat down next to the brunette, “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Well either way, thank you.”

Waverly ordered their dinner and chose a movie, not really knowing what else to say now that they were both settled. She was 100% certain that she had a crush on the older girl seeing as she couldn’t stop thinking about how stupidly attractive she looked in her outfit, or the fact that Nicole obviously went out of her way to get her something vegan. Even Wynonna often forgot that Waverly didn’t eat meat and more times than not she was left out or forgotten when it came to dinner or snacks.

“Do you always hang out with people only to not talk or…”

Waverly looked at Nicole, “What? No, I- I’m sorry, I-”

“Hey, calm down, I’m only messing with you.” Nicole said. “It’s just your hardly ever quiet and it’s kind of throwin’ me off.”

“Oh.” Waverly dropped her hands to her knees. “I’ve only just realized that I don’t know all that much about you.”

“Ask me.” Nicole shrugged. “Whatever you want to know.”

“Yeah?”

Nicole shrugged, “Sure, why not.”

“Where were you born?” Waverly asked.

“Jacksonville, Florida.” Nicole said. “Although my parents and sister didn’t live there at the time. They were coming back from a funeral and I came a little early. I spent the first two years of my life in California.”

“Why does your dad change jobs so much?” Waverly asked. “That can’t be easy on you guys when it comes to relationships and friendships.”

Nicole laughed softly, “No, but I’ve never really had to worry about that. For years we were gone before I could even make friends and the only relationship I’ve ever been in, she cheated on me.”

“Oh Nicole, I’m so sorry.”

Nicole waved her off, “I wasn’t in love with her, don’t worry.”

“It’s hard to belive you’ve only ever been in one relationship, you just seem-”

“Like a player?”

Waverly’s eyes widened, “What? No, I just-“

“I sleep around, sure, but I’ve not really found anyone that I want to actually date.” Nicole said. “Purgatory may hate me but the girls in the next town over don’t.”

Waverly looked down at her hands, an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach at the thought of Nicole sleeping with other girls. She knew she had no right to feel off, or jealous but now that Waverly knew she liked Nicole, it was hard not to be. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry, that’s uh-” Nicole sighed in relief at the sound of the doorbell. Even though they weren’t anything more than friends, she didn’t need to tell her soulmate about how she’s been with other people. “I’ll get it.”

Waverly nodded and stood up, “Okay.”

Nicole paid the delivery driver and carried the bags into the kitchen, “Do you want to eat in here or the living room?”  
  


“Either is fine.” Waverly said, rocking on the back on her heels.

“We’ll eat in here then.” Nicole started to put their food on plates. “I don’t really like to eat while watchin’ tv because I get too distracted and my food often gets cold.”

“You sound like Wynonna.” Waverly paused, eyes wide. “Sorry, that’s uh… can I help with anything?”  
  


“Nope. All good here.” She handed Waverly a plate. “… and Waverly?”

Waverly sat down at the kitchen table, “Hmm?”

“You can talk about your family, and your friends.” Nicole said. “They’re a part of your life and I wouldn’t ever want you to hide that part away.”

“Even if you guys hate each other?”

Nicole nodded, “Even if we strongly dislike each other.”

///

**Thursday: April 10th, 2019 - 8PM**

“You’re telling me you’ve moved fourteen different times and been all over the freakin’ world, but you’ve never been to an amusement park?”

“You’ve never been to a beach.”

“I’ve never even left the Triangle.”

Nicole’s eyes widened, “What!?”

Waverly shrugged as she reached for another beer, “I’ve never really had a reason to. My family and friends are here, and well… uh, so is my soulmate now, so… yeah.”

“If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?” Nicole asked, choosing to not comment on the soulmate thing. Waverly was only stating a fact, that was it.

“Italy.” Waverly said. “I don’t know why, it’s just always been a favorite of mine.”

“We went there on vacation when I was four, but I don’t remember shit.” Nicole said. “Apparently I threw up all over my dad on the plane.”

Waverly laughed, “Oh no.”

“We were in the middle of landing, so my dad couldn’t do anything but deal with it until we were in the airport.” Nicole said. “Still brings it up to this day and refuses to let me sit anywhere near him when we fly.”

“Awe, that’s kind of adorable.” Waverly said. “Your dad seems awesome.”

“My parents are great.” Nicole said. “What about yours? I never hear you talk about them. If it’s too personal, you don’t have to tell me.”

“My dad died when I was younger, and my mom left us with our aunt and uncle before she left town with another man.” Waverly said. “Haven’t heard from her in years.”

“Damn, Wave, I’m sorry.” Nicole said. “No one deserves that.”

“They weren’t good people.” Waverly said. “The Homestead where we used to live is full of bad memories. There wasn’t a day that went by where there wasn’t some type of fight. I spent most of my childhood hiding in closests and under beds because the yelling terrified me. Now I live with two of the greatest people on the face of the earth who do everything in their power to make sure we’re okay and have everything we need.”

“That’s awesome.” Nicole said. “That you were able to move in with them.”

“They could never have kids of their own, but they’ve always treated us like theirs.” Waverly smiled at the thought of her aunt and uncle. “I don’t know where I’d be if it wasn’t for them.”

“They clearly did a good job.” Nicole said. “With you at least.”

Waverly met brown eyes, eyebrows knit together, “Yeah?”

“You’re pretty cool to be around when you aren’t trying so hard.” Nicole said. “I know you’ve got an image to uphold but if this is the real you like I think it is, you’re pretty damn great.”

Waverly blushed at the compliment; no one really ever talked about her personality, only her body and what she could do with it. “Thanks.”

Nicole nodded, slapping her hands onto her knees, “No problem.”

“You’re a giant teddy bear, you know that?”

Nicole turned to her, eyes narrowed, “Nuh uh.”

“Yes huh.” Waverly said. “You’re a total softy when no one else is around.”

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, Waverly Earp.”

Waverly shoved the redhead with a roll of her eyes. “Shut up.”

Nicole clicked her tongue, “Make me.”

“Yeah, you wish!”

Nicole realized what she said and started to internally panic. Did she just accidentally flirt with Waverly? “I, uh, um… dessert?” She asked as she stood up, refusing to look at the brunette. Soulmates or not, she didn’t want Waverly to know about her crush and it make things weird between them once again.

Waverly frowned at Nicole’s reaction; she hadn’t meant to flirt with her, but she hadn’t expected the older girl to react like that either. Nicole seemed flustered and she didn’t know whether that was a good thing or not. Sure, they were soulmates, but Waverly had been very adamant on them only being friends so maybe Nicole didn’t think it was okay to cross that line. “That’s fine with me.”

“Awesome.” Nicole made her way into the kitchen to not only calm her rapidly beating heart but to get the vegan cupcakes she had bought earlier that day when she was at the grocery store. She grabbed the small container off the counter, pausing when she saw an envelope addressed to her dad beneath it. Clearly too distracted early by the fact that she was going to be spending time with Waverly with no school work between them, she hadn’t seen it.

She stood there for a moment, debating on whether or not she should open it but the anxiety she felt was overwhelming. She knew that her parents were hiding something and even though Kayla told her that they were going to confront them tomorrow if they hadn’t told them yet, it still wasn’t good enough for Nicole. She had spent the last few nights, tossing and turning, unable to really focus on anything other than what her dad had yet to tell them. Moving was most likely it, and although she didn’t like Purgatory all that much, she had just found her soulmate and things were going decent.

With a deep breath, Nicole grabbed the envelop and pulled the papers out, ready to see where they were moving to next. She only got halfway through the first sentence before her entire world came crashing down around her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst central is on it's way. Will it bring Waverly and Nicole closer? Or will the little progress they've made be torn apart as Nicole comes to terms with a huge change in her life. Who knows. See ya'll next week!


	9. Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: this chapter talks about death, potential parent death, and cancer. 
> 
> This chapter is a huge part of Nicole's story arc. I've had this chapter done for a over a week but have debated on whether or not to go forward with it. At the end of the day, this has been planned since the very beginning because it changes a lot of things for Nicole and all of the relationships she has, including with Waverly. Not every story is happy, even if it DOES have a happy ending. This isn't just for the angst, this is a make or break for Nicole. Just wanted to give the heads up before you guys read. Thanks for sticking around.

**Thursday: April 11th, 2019 - 8:02PM**

“That- that _bastard!_ ” Nicole hissed, angry tears in her eyes as she slammed the stack of papers onto the counter.

Waverly made her way into the kitchen, taken aback by the redhead. Nicole was standing at the counter, a stack of papers crumpled in her hands, tears pouring down her face. “Nicole, oh my God, what’s wrong?”

“He has cancer!” Nicole spat. “He’s dying!” 

“Who is?” Waverly asked, unsure of how to handle the situation. Nicole was normally so strong and put together; seeing her like this broke Waverly’s heart. “Nicole, hey, talk to me. Who has cancer?”

“My dad!” Nicole wiped roughly at her eyes, but the tears continued to fall. “Stage four and there’s nothing else they can do for him. He’s been in Tokyo all this time gettin’ treatments, but they aren’t working anymore. This entire time I thought he was at his job but he’s- he lied to us!”

“Nicole, I’m so sorry.” Waverly took a step towards the redhead, hesitant. “God. Is there anything that I can do? No, that’s such a stupid question, I-”

“Six months.” Nicole said. “Six months they’ve known and I’m just now finding out? It… it says he’s only got months, maybe less, to live.”

Waverly gasped softly.

Nicole shook her head, a cold smile on her lips, “I was afraid I’d have to move again but nope, it’s just my dad dying from cancer. _Fuck!_ I should’ve been paying more attention! _”_

“Hey.” Waverly grabbed Nicole’s hand and pulled her closer. “Nicole, you can’t do this to yourself. You had no idea what was going on with him, how could you have known what to look for?”

“Oh God, and my mom.” Nicole ran a hand down her face, “Waverly, she can’t live without him. They’ve been together so long and they’re _soulmates_ ; she can’t be without him. I- this is so _fucked!_ God damn it! Why didn’t he tell us?”

“Maybe he doesn’t want to worry you?”

“Was I supposed to find out when he died?” Nicole asked bitterly. “I’m not a fucking child, Waverly, I deserved to know! I- I could’ve done something to help!”

“Nicole…”

Nicole collapsed onto the floor, burying her head in her hands. “He’s my dad. He’s supposed to grow old and watch me grow up. I don’t know how to be in this world without him here.”

Waverly sat down beside her, sitting close but far enough away as to not smother Nicole. “Is there someone you want me to call?”

Nicole sniffled, “No.”

“What about your sister?”

“She’s probably drunk off her ass right now.” Nicole said. “My parents are at an overnight conference for my mom’s work; they won’t be home until tomorrow.”

“I’ll stay with you.” Waverly said simply, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I mean, I’ll stay… tonight… to keep you company.”

“You don’t have to.” Nicole said. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not.” Waverly said. “Believe it or not, I’ve had my fair share of tragedy in my life and I can spot bullshit from a mile away.”

Nicole turned to look at her, eyes red and puffy, “I’m sorry about how tonight turned out. Great way to spend the evening, right?”

“Don’t apologize.” Waverly said. “Seriously Nicole, it’s okay.”

“Nothing’s okay.” Nicole grumbled. “My family is gonna fall apart.”

“You don’t know that.” Waverly said. “I… God, I have no idea what to say.”

“They saw color.”

Waverly looked at her, an eyebrow raised, “What?”

“When my parents met, they saw color for the first time.” Nicole said. “We have these permanent reminders on our body that we’re supposed to belong together, but they only have colors as their connection. When… when he dies, what if my mom starts seeing in black and white again? She doesn’t deserve that, Waverly, she’s too good to live in such darkness.”

Waverly felt her heart fall into her stomach; Nicole was one of the nicest people she had ever met in her life. Nicole had just found out horrible, life changing news about her father, and all she could care about was how it would affect her mother. “She’s an artist. If she didn’t love helping people so much, I swear she would’ve opened up her own gallery. Before we moved here, dad rented her a studio to paint in and she was so happy. What if she can’t do it anymore when he’s gone?”

“You don’t know what will happen.”

Nicole leaned up against one of the cabinets, “You’ve heard the stories, I know you have. The colors go, the writings fade, all of it. Even sometimes, the tattoos disappear too. How shitty is that? Like, death isn’t our fault and not only are we losing loved ones but we’re losing what brought us together?” 

“You have the memories.” Waverly said as she grabbed for Nicole’s hand again, interlacing their fingers together. If she hadn’t been so concerned for the redhead, she would’ve felt the spark that ran through her body. “Come on, why don’t you go change into something more comfortable and then we can watch terrible reality tv to get your mind off of things?”

“I’m just _so_ angry.” Nicole admitted, ignoring the brunette as she fell deeper and deeper into despair. “We’re expected to tell our parents everything, but we don’t get the same? This isn’t a trip to Disney World that they’re trying to surprise us with, this- this is a life and death situation and I get no time to process it! How is that fair?”

Waverly stood up, pulling Nicole with her. “Go change and I’ll fix you some hot chocolate. You have hot chocolate, don’t you?”

Nicole ran a shaky hand through her hair, “Uh, yeah, in the pantry.”

Waverly nodded towards the stairs, “We’ll keep talking when you get back if that’s what you want, okay?”

Nicole nodded and wiped her nose on her sleeve, “It’s a good thing you don’t like me or else this whole thing would be super unattractive.”

Waverly rolled her eyes and shoved the redhead into the hallway. “Go.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Thank you.” Waverly huffed and went to gather the ingredients for the hot chocolate. Nicole could believe what she wanted, but crush or not, they were friends and Waverly was going to support her however she could.

///

**Thursday:** ** April 11th, 2019 - 11PM **

“You can take the bed.”

“Hmm?” Waverly looked up from her phone after sending Curtis a text to tell him that she would be staying the night somewhere else. After Nicole had changed into pajamas and come back downstairs, they had spent the rest of the night watching trash reality tv. Nicole didn’t bring up her dad’s condition again and Waverly didn’t ask; it wasn’t her place and it was clear that if Nicole wanted to talk, she would.

“I said, you can take the bed.” Nicole repeated, a small, tired smile on her face.

“What? No, I won’t do that.” Waverly said. “The floor is fine.”

Nicole snorted, “No, it’s not. Please, take the bed.”

“Alright then, the couch.”

“That’s worse than the floor, trust me.” Nicole rubbed the back of her neck as she handed Waverly a t-shirt. “I, uh, only have this shirt for you to sleep in.”

“I can sleep in my clothes, Nicole.”

“Oh, Jesusfuckin’christ.” Nicole held out the shirt. “You’re like, 2’11, so it’ll probably be super long on but it’s all I have.”

“Hey!” Waverly grabbed the shirt and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not that short and you know it.”

“From up here, I can’t tell.” Nicole said, a lazy smirk on her face.

“I hate you.”

“I’ll take the floor and you’ll take the bed.” Nicole said; as big as their house was and they only had three bedrooms. If she wasn’t so worried and angry about her father, she would’ve been freaking out about the fact that Waverly fuckin’ Earp was about to sleep in her bed. “Okay? Okay, good.”

“Nic-“

Nicole opened her closet and grabbed a handful of blankets; she turned to Waverly with a cheeky grin. “See? Portable bed.”

“You’re the absolute worst.” Waverly said. “Thank you.”

“The bathroom is at the end of the hall. There’s an extra toothbrush in the cabinet for you.” Nicole said as she started to set up her bed on the floor.

Waverly nodded and took off out of the room and down the hall, into the bathroom. She changed into the t-shirt, cursing under her breath when it actually touched her knees. Damn Nicole and being tall! Any other day, Waverly would’ve swooned at being able to wear her crush’s clothes, but she was filled with a sadness she couldn’t shake, not only for Nicole but for her family. Death was awful, and it could ruin families; Waverly knew that first hand. Even though they were still getting to know each other, Waverly knew that Nicole didn’t deserve any of this. She came off as cold and uncaring, hard, but the more time she spent with the redhead, the more she realized that Nicole was one of the sweetest people she had ever met.

She brushed her teeth and pulled her hair up into a messy bun before folding her clothes and setting them on the counter; she wouldn’t have time to go back to her house in the morning _and_ make it to school on time. She washed her makeup off, knowing that she couldn’t sleep in it, before making her way back into Nicole’s room. “Thanks again for letting me borrow your clothes.”

Nicole looked up from her makeshift bed, eyes wide as she saw Waverly in her shirt; she swallowed thickly. “Oh. S- sure. N- no problem.” She stammered. How was it possibly that Waverly was even more beautiful with no makeup on and her hair a mess? It was one of the hottest things Nicole had ever seen in her life and she was praying to whatever was out there that Waverly couldn’t see her blush due to the low lamp light.

Waverly hesitated at the edge of the bed, “Are you sure you don’t want the bed?”

“ _Waverly._ ”

“Okay. Okay.” Waverly climbed into the bed, relaxing immediately into the sheets. “Holy shit, it’s like I’m on a cloud!”

Nicole laughed softly, “It’s great, isn’t it?”  
  


“It really is!” Waverly said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go back to my own bed.”

Nicole turned to look at her, head resting on her palm. “Most people hate how soft it is but it’s my own personal heaven.”

“Those people are stupid.” Waverly said. “This is great.”

“Well then, aren’t you glad you agreed to take the bed?”

Waverly glared down at her, “Shut up.” 

///

**Friday: April 12th, 2019 - 7:51AM**

Waverly sat down on the bottom step and pulled on her boots from the night before, “I can get your homework for you if you want me to?”

“Uh, only if you want.”

“I will.” Waverly said, matter of fact as she stood up. “You sure you don’t want me to wait until your sister gets home?”

Nicole shook her head, “Kayla is… I just… I need to do this alone.”

Waverly nodded, squeezing Nicole’s shoulder gently. “You gonna be okay?”

Nicole shrugged, “I have to be, yeah?”

“I’m here for you.” Waverly told her. “Don’t forget that. I know what you’re going through and if you need to talk, I’m here. We’re friends, Nicole.”

“Wanna say we’re friends one more time?”  
  


Waverly grabbed her phone and keys, “We’re. Friends.”

Nicole laughed, “There ya go!”

Waverly rolled her eyes and opened the front door, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Nicole nodded, “If not at school, at the coffee shop.”

“Okay, good.” Waverly smiled and took off to her car, just as Kayla was pulling into the driveway, right on time.

Nicole felt all the happiness drain from her body and a heavy weight settle in her stomach. How was she supposed to tell Kayla that their dad was dying and that she didn’t know how much longer they had with him?

“Ohhhh, look at you baby sis, gettin’ some!” Kayla said in lieu of a normal greeting; she hopped up the porch steps and punched her sister in the shoulder. “Gettin’ over Waverly Earp by gettin’ under someone else. Nice!”

“That _is_ Waverly.” Nicole shoved her sister into the house. “… and we weren’t doin’ anything like that, okay?”

“Mhm, sure.” Kayla waggled her eyebrows. “Your soulmate just happens to stay the night while no one else is home?”

“I…” Nicole looked down at her shoes. “Kay-”

“Why aren’t you ready for school yet?” Kayla asked; she looked at her watch to double check the time. “If you don’t get a move on, Cole, you’re gonna be late.”

“I’m not going to school today.” Nicole said, “Kayla-”

Kayla narrowed her eyes, watching as her younger sister shifted uncomfortably. “What’s wrong? What’s going on.”

Nicole pulled the envelope out of her back pocket and handed it to her sister. “It’s… it’s dad, Kayla; he has cancer.” She said: it was easier to rip the band aid right off when it came to the older redhead.

“What?” Kayla tore the papers from the envelope, silent as she read over the news that had torn Nicole to pieces the night before. “No. _No_. Dad doesn’t have fuckin’ cancer, this has to be a mistake. He… he wouldn’t keep this from us.”

Nicole started to tear up, “I found out last night by accident.”

Kayla shook her head, shoving the papers into Nicole’s chest. “No.”

“What do you mean no?”  
  


“I can’t do this.” Kayla started to back up, back towards the door. “He… he doesn’t have _that_. He would’ve told us. He would’ve told us, Cole.”

“I-“

“I can’t do this.” Kayla repeated as she tore the front door open, eyes wide and unfocused; her dad was her best friend and she couldn’t comprehend that something serious was wrong with him. “I have to go, I can’t be here.”  
  


“What? No, you can’t leave me here by myself!” Nicole said. “Kayla don’t do this.”

Kayla was already at her car, “You can act like everything is okay, but I can’t, okay? I need time and I can’t be here, Nicole.”

Nicole frowned at the use of her full name, “Kayla.”

“I’ll be back later.” Kayla clambered into her car and took off back out of the driveway, ignoring the pleas from her sister to stay and talk.

Nicole hissed out in frustration, sending her fist through the wall, “God damn it!”

///

**Friday: April 12th, 2019 - 1:43PM**

“Nicole Haught, what is this hole doing in my wall?” Laura Haught asked, hands on her hips as she stared down at her daughter. “… and why did I receive a call from the school saying you didn’t show up today?”

“When were you goin’ to tell us?” Nicole asked, ignoring her mother to look at her father, eyes cold. She felt more than she let on, but it was very rare that she showed it; Waverly only happened to catch a glimpse of it because she was there when she found out about her dad.

Mack looked down at her, “What?”

Nicole tossed the papers onto the coffee table, watching as they scattered apart and fell onto the floor. “I’m not a fuckin’ child.”

Mack paled, “How did you-”

“Don’t keep important medical information where anyone can find it, _dad_.” Nicole said, angry tears in her eyes for the umpteenth time that day. “You’ve known for months that you’ve had cancer and you didn’t stop and think to tell us!?”

“Nicole, sweetie, we we’re goin’ to but-”

“But what?” Nicole asked, turning to glare at her mother. “We deserved to know!”

Mack ran a hand down his face, sighing. “Cole, please, calm down.”

Nicole shot up, a fury in her eyes. “We never keep secrets from each other! You’re dying, and you didn’t care to tell us.”

“We didn’t want to worry you.” Laura said.

“The treatments, they were working but they stopped.” Mack said. “We didn’t want to tell you unless we had to. I swear I was going to tell you before I left tomorrow.”

“You shouldn’t be leaving at all!” Nicole said, tears falling down her face. “I don’t know how much time you have left and you’re choosing to spend it away from me, from us.”

“That’s not true, sweetie.” Mack sat down on one of the chairs. “I’m going back to Tokyo to handle a few things and then I’m coming back home. I didn’t lie to you when I said I was at work because I was, I was just dealing with this too.” 

“I’m so angry with you.” Nicole looked between her the two of them. “With both of you. I… we should’ve known sooner.”

“Maybe, but this is _my_ cancer and I choose when I let people know.” Mack said. “I’m sorry if you don’t understand that but I had my reasons.”

“This is bullshit!” Nicole kicked the coffee table, sending it on its side. “You could die tomorrow, and you expect me to be okay with it.”

“That’s not what I’m saying.”

“It feels like it!” Nicole said angrily. “How am I supposed to process this when I’m afraid that I could lose you at any second?”

“We can talk about this.” Mack said. “What you feel is valid and-”

“Way to mentally fuck up your kids, dad.” Nicole said and stormed out of the room, unable to be around her parents any longer. She hadn’t meant to get angry at him, knowing she could lose him, but she couldn’t help it. She was hurt and upset that she had been left in the dark over something so important; she knew it couldn’t be easy on her dad, but she and Kayla deserved to know the truth. It wasn’t okay that they were being forced to accept his cancer and deal with his potential death all in one day.

///

**Nicole (2:47pm)** – _I feel really guilty._

**Waverly (2:49pm)** – _Why?_

**Nicole (2:55pm)** – _I yelled at my dad and told him it’s his fault for mentally fucking us up because of this. I didn’t mean to say it, it just happened._

**Waverly (3:03pm)** – _How did your sister take it?_

**Nicole (3:04pm)** – _I haven’t seen her since this morning._

**Waverly (3:04pm)** – _I’m sorry._

**Waverly (3:08pm)** – _We could have a study session today at the coffee shop if you want? Get you out of the house. Get your mind off things._

**Nicole (3:10pm)** – _Isn’t Thursday’s your late day at school?_

**Waverly (3:12pm)** – _Yeah, but I can move it to tomorrow. I’m Captain, remember?_

**Nicole (3:15pm)** – _Thanks, but you don’t have to._

**Waverly (3:21pm)** – _I want to._

**Nicole (3:22pm)** – _Are you sure?_

**Waverly (3:38pm)** – _5pm. I'll see you there._


	10. Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slow burn picking up? Two idiots who have feelings but don't know how to acknowledge them? Yes and yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've gone back all the way to chapter one to put in dates and times because ya girl was getting hella confused herself on some of the timeline and I'm sure some of you were too. Also, this timeline spans a couple of days and it seems a lot easier to put the dates and times, so there's that. Enjoy!

** Friday: April 12th, 2019 – 5pm **

Waverly looked up from her homework, a small, sad smile on her face when Nicole made her way over to their usual table. “Hey Nic.”

Nicole fell into the empty chair across from the junior. “Hi.”

“Do you want a coffee?” Waverly asked.

Nicole shook her head, “No thanks.”

Waverly nodded and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, “Okay.”

“Can we just study?” Nicole asked, a tired look in her eyes; she didn’t want to think about what was going own at home for a little while if she could help it.

“You forgot your books.”

Nicole slapped a hand to her face, “Fuck.”

Waverly laughed softly, “Hey, it’s alright, I can still quiz you on things. I’m a bit of a genius when it comes to history, remember?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Waverly reached across the table and grabbed Nicole’s hand, squeezing gently. “I just want you to know that I’m here for you, okay? If you ever want to talk or whatever, I don’t mind. I’m sorry you’re going through this Nicole.”

Nicole shrugged, her heart beating rapidly in her chest at the warmth from Waverly’s hand; now wasn’t the time to acknowledge feelings that would never be returned. “Thanks Wave.”

“You’re not alone.” Waverly said, matter of fact. “Not with me around, I promise you that. We’re friends, Nic and I want you to be okay.”

Nicole gave her a small smile. “You’re the best.”

“I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to be, Nicole Haught.”

Nicole rolled her eyes and flipped her off, “Shut up.”

“Come on.” Waverly stuffed her homework into her own backpack before turning her full attention on Nicole. “If you get all the questions right that I ask you, I’ll buy you a pizza tonight.”

Nicole straightened up, a look of determination in her eyes, “Hit me.”

Waverly nodded and shot off the first question, happy to be a distraction to Nicole’s current situation. 

Whether Nicole realized it or not, this was exactly where she needed to be at the moment. She needed the normalcy, something that would take her mind off of everything that was going on at home and the guilt that she felt for how she reacted. Although she would never admit it to anyone, Waverly was starting to feel like one of the only safe places she had, and Nicole had no idea if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, Nicole was dealing with too much to really realize what that meant for her, or for them.

If only she knew that Waverly was starting to feel the same way too.

///

** Wednesday: April 17th, 2019 - Evening **

Nicole sighed in frustration, slamming her phone onto the kitchen table. “God damn it.” She hissed, dropping her head into her hands.

“Still no word from your sister?” Waverly asked, a frown on her face.

“Nope.”

Six days have passed since Nicole and Kayla found out about their dad’s cancer. Six days since Kayla had been seen or heard from; her phone is still on but no matter how many times Nicole tried to reach her, all she gets is silence. On Monday, just days after his children found out his news, Mack left to go back to Japan. He had delayed his trip long enough, and no matter how hard Nicole tried to get him to stay, he couldn’t. His firm was partnering up with a new business in Tokyo and it was his job to get things under control, to find someone to take over for him before he could return home.

“I’m sorry, Nicole.” Waverly reached across the kitchen table and grabbed Nicole’s hand, squeezing gently. “I’m sure she’s okay.”

“She always runs when she gets bad news, but it’s never been this long before.” Nicole said, brown eyes meeting hazel. “It feels like my entire family is falling apart and all I can do is let it happen.”

“She’ll come back.” Waverly said. “She has to, right?”

Nicole shrugged. “Haught’s don’t really handle things all that well.”

“I can tell.” Waverly ran her thumb across the redhead’s palm, their tutoring session long forgotten. Ever since Nicole got the news about her dad, they had spent every single day together, sometimes studying, sometimes not. Kayla had disappeared, and Laura was working doubles at the hospital, leaving Nicole to deal with all of it on her own. Nicole didn’t talk about her feelings and Waverly didn’t push it, and that was just fine for the both of them.

“Not that I mind, but you don’t have to spend all of your free time with me you know.” Nicole told the brunette. “I know you have other friends.”

“I want to.” Waverly said, matter of fact. “Besides, you don’t talk about boys or try to start drama. It’s a nice change from what I’m used to.”

“My whole life is drama right now.” Nicole said. “What’re you talkin’ about?”

“I just mean that you’re _real_. You don’t try to put on a show or seem better than you are.” Waverly said. “I don’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not when I’m around you.”

Nicole shrugged, “I don’t think you should ever be anyone other than yourself, Wave. Believe it or not, I like this you a lot better than the you put on when you’re around your friends.”

“I’m not _that_ different.”

“No, you aren’t but I know for a fact you hide some parts of yourself when you’re with Stephanie or Chrissy, and all those other idiots.” Nicole said. “Just the other day, I heard you bring up a documentary you’re excited about and when one of the cheerleaders gave you a weird look, you shut up about it. Like, I know you have an image to uphold because you’re the most popular girl in school, but you shouldn’t have to hide the things you love.”

“Yeah?”

“If they’re really your friends, they wouldn’t care that you have different interests. If I’m being honest, I think it’s pretty cool how excited you get over your favorite things.” Nicole said, “Look, all I’m saying is that you should never hide who you are because I think she’s pretty great.”

“Thank you.”

Nicole smiled at her, “No problem.”

“Do you wanna skip the rest of our session and make dinner?”  
  


“Make dinner? I don’t think that’s such a good idea; I burnt a hole through a pan once.”

Waverly couldn’t help but laugh, “No, you didn’t!”

“Oh, yes I did.” Nicole said. “If I’m anywhere near the stove and my mom is around, she chases me out of the room.”

Waverly stood up, stretching her limbs as she went. “We can fix something together; I promise, it’s easy.”

“Can’t we just order take out?”

“You can’t always live on fast food, Nicole.” Waverly said. “Point me in the direction of the pasta and we’ll start from there.”

Nicole nodded and stood up, pausing when she saw her phone light up on the table. She realized that it was a text message from her sister and opened it, sighing in relief at the message. _This is Doc, she’s safe._ She would’ve rather it have been her sister, but Doc was the next best thing; she knew that he would keep her safe and that’s all that mattered. Now Nicole understood why her friend hadn’t been at school all that week.

“Everything okay?” Waverly asked, concern clear on her face.

Nicole shoved her phone into her pocket, “Yeah, just… it was Doc, he was telling me that Kayla’s safe.”

“He’s the wanna be cowboy, isn’t he?”  
  


Nicole nodded, “Yep, that’s the one.”

“He’s got a great moustache.” Waverly said as she clapped her hands together. “Okay, now, where do you keep the pasta?”

///

Two hours later, after a somewhat successful dinner, Nicole and Waverly made their way into the living room to watch a show. Nicole only burnt a few noodles in the beginning, but after Waverly showed her what to look out for, she didn’t have any more problems. Unlike Kayla and Laura, Waverly didn’t get frustrated with Nicole’s incompetence in the kitchen; if she was being honest, she thought it was adorable. Nicole, a known badass, taken down by pasta.

“Wave?”

Waverly turned to look at Nicole, an eyebrow raised in question. “Hmm?”

“My dad might not be at my graduation.” Nicole said, eyes still on the television; it had been on her mind for days, but she had just found the courage to say out loud.

Waverly’s heart broke inside her chest; she was never close with her father, but she had been with her mother and when she left, she was hurt. Michelle was her hero when she was little, a woman Waverly only dreamed of becoming and when skipped town, Waverly was devastated. Death is different, Waverly knows that, but she still knows what it feels like to lose a parent, one way or another and for them to not be there during important milestones in your life.

“I- I just realized that.” Nicole said.

“I’m sorry.” Waverly said, unable to find the right words to say.

Nicole shrugged, refusing to speak any more about it. “Either way, there’s nothing I can do about it now.”

Waverly scooted closer to Nicole, “I know it’s not much, but I’ll be there.”

“Your sister is graduating, you kind of have to be.”

“Even if she wasn’t, I’d still be there… for you.”

Nicole turned to look at Waverly, “Yeah?”  
  


Waverly nodded, swallowing thickly at the intense look in the redhead’s eyes. “Totally, for- for sure.”

Nicole pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “You’re cute when you stutter.” She deadpanned before returning her attention to the tv, acting as if she hadn’t just flirted with the junior.

Waverly stared at her, jaw dropping slightly. Nicole’s back and forth could often times be confusing and a bit frustrating but the more time they spent together, the more Waverly understood the redhead. One-minute Nicole was quiet and hesitant with her then the next she was cocky and confident, unafraid to say what was on her mind, whatever it may be.

Nicole pointed to the screen. “Look, it’s a panda, your favorite.”

Waverly turned back to the screen, unable to keep a smile off her face as she saw a panda on the tv. She had mentioned it in an offhanded comment a few weeks ago that she loved panda’s; to know that Nicole remembered such a small detail about her, it made her stomach all fuzzy.

///

“Well, if this isn’t the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Nicole startled awake as a flash went off in the living room; she opened her eyes to see her mom standing a few feet away, her phone in her hands. She went to stand up but realized she couldn’t because a weight was on her chest; she looked down to see Waverly sound asleep against her. “Oh. I uh… _Mom!”_

Laura tucked her phone back into her purse, a smirk playing on her lips; she was exhausted but couldn’t help but be happy for her daughter. Over the last couple of weeks she had watched Waverly and Nicole’s relationship grow, and although they were completely oblivious, she wasn’t. “Nice night?”

“We made pasta.”

Laura crossed her arms across her chest. “Did I lose another pot?”

“ _N_ o.” Nicole grumbled. “Your pots are safe and sound, thank you very much.”

“Good.”

  
“There’s some leftovers in the fridge, if you’re hungry.” Nicole said.

“Any word from your sister?” Laura asked.

“She’s with Doc.” Nicole straightened up, careful not to wake Waverly up. “That’s all I know.”

Laura sighed, “At least she’s safe.”

“Yeah.”

“You two should get to bed, it’s late.” Laura said, nodding towards the clock on the wall. “Waverly shouldn’t be driving home at this time of night.”

Nicole saw the time and her eyes widened in shock, it was after midnight; they had been asleep for a while. “I agree.”

“I’m going to go take a shower and get some sleep, I have another shift in a few hours.” Laura said as she kicked her shoes off.

“Mom, you really should slow down, you’re working too much.”  
  


“We’re short staffed and they need all the help they can get.” Laura waved her off. “Don’t worry about me, I’m fine.”

Nicole sighed, knowing this was a fight she wouldn’t win. “Fine.”

Laura made her way over to her youngest daughter and pressed a kiss to her head. “You and I, dinner this weekend, okay?”

Nicole nodded, a sleepy grin on her face. “I can’t wait.”

“I love you, Cole.” Laura wished her a goodnight and disappeared down the hall, towards her bedroom.

Nicole grabbed the remote and turned the television off before gently shaking Waverly awake. “Wave, hey, we fell asleep. We should go to bed.”

The brunette mumbled incoherently, burying her face even further into Nicole.

Nicole’s heart skipped a beat at the action, “I… Wave, come on.” She shook the younger girl once more. “You may be comfortable, but I am _s_ o not going to be if I have to spend an entire night in this position.”  
  


Waverly eyes snapped open, and she froze as she realized what Nicole had just said. It only took her a moment to realize that she had fallen asleep on Nicole; she shot up, scooting several feet away. “Oh. I… I’m so sorry, Nic.”

“No worries, Wave, I fell asleep too.”

Waverly was thankful for the darkness of the room because she was certain she was bright red; only she would fall asleep on her crush. “What time is it?” She asked, voice hoarse from sleep.

“After midnight.”

“I should get home.” Waverly said as she stood up, praying that she wouldn’t trip and fall in the darkness.

“I, uh. Well. It’s late, if you wanna stay.” Nicole said. “I just… you live like twenty minutes away and… and it’s late.”

“I don’t want to intrude-”

“If something happened to you on the way home, I couldn’t live with myself.” Nicole said. “I mean, I just don’t want that on my conscience.”

“ _Oh_ , how very kind of you.” Waverly said sarcastically.

“That’s not what I meant, I-”

“I’m messing with you, Nicole.” Waverly said. “I’ll stay.”

“Oh. Right. Yeah, cool.” Nicole nodded and got up. “You can have my room.”

“I can’t have you sleeping on the floor again.”

“The lady always gets the bed.”

“But…”

“Can you just let me be nice to you?”

Waverly rocked on her heels, a huge smile on her face, “Sure, sorry.”

“Come on.” Nicole gently nudged the shorter girl out of the room and up the stairs to her bedroom. “Let’s get some sleep.”

///

** Thursday: April 18th, 2019 - Morning **

“Wait, she could’ve slept in her sister’s bedroom but chose to sleep on the floor beside you instead?” Willa asked, eyes wide in excitement.

“I don’t think it means anything.” Waverly looked anywhere but at her phone. She had Facetimed her older sister on the way to school, needing someone to talk to about her night with the redhead. “We were both half asleep and…”

“You just told me she said you were cute!”

“She said when I stutter it’s cute, not me!”

Willa slapped a hand to her forehead, “That’s literally the same thing!”

“No, it’s not.”

“You’re so far in denial, it’s not funny anymore, it’s just sad.”

Waverly glared at her, “I will hang up and never tell you anything ever again.”

Willa shook her head, “No, please don’t, I love your teenage drama!”

“Nothing will ever happen, Will.”

“You’ve spent every single day together this week and you’ve spent the night at her house _twice_. The girl has given you her bed to sleep in and flirts with you all the damn time; what more do you need?”  
  


“It doesn’t matter.” Waverly said. “Nicole needs a friend right now and I’m sure she’s not even thinking about a relationship. N- not that I am either!”

“You’re hopeless.” Willa said. “I can’t wait to be a bridesmaid!”

“We aren’t getting married!” Waverly huffed. “Willa, stop! I’m not going to take advantage of whatever feelings Nicole does or does not have for me because she has a lot going on right now.”

“Did you ever think that maybe she needs you as more than a friend or-”

“I unintentionally flirt with people all of the time; how do I know she’s not just doing it on accident?” Waverly asked.

“Ask her?”

“What? No!” Waverly squeaked. “We’re only now becoming friends and I don’t want to ruin that by making things awkward. Friends, that’s all we are.”

“You fell asleep on her chest last night.”

“I didn’t mean to!”

“Mhm, sure.”

“I didn’t!” Waverly argued. “I didn’t even mean to fall asleep at all!”

“I can’t wait until I can say I told you so.”

Waverly rolled her eyes, “It’ll never happen.”

Willa sighed, “Wave, just follow your heart and if it feels right, go for it. Nicole sounds like she’s into you, stop being a little bitch and grow a pair.”

“I have to get to class.” Waverly said. “Thanks for not helping me at all.”

“Hey, I help you all the time, you just refuse to listen to me!”

“Whatever you say, bye Will!” Waverly pressed end on the video chat before shoving her phone into her purse. She grabbed her things she would need for school and climbed out of her jeep, nearly jumping out of her skin when Wynonna jumped out in front of her.

“You didn’t come home last night.” Wynonna said, giving her little sister a once over. “I thought you said you weren’t gettin’ dick?”

“I’m _not_ , Wynonna, Jesus.”

“Where were you?”

“A friend’s house.”

“Soooo… Champ?”

“No.” Waverly said. “Not Champ.”

“Whatever you say.” Wynonna sing-songs as she follows Waverly into the school. “Whoever it is, you’ve been spending a lot of time with them.”

“How was your night?” Waverly asked, abruptly ending their conversation and changing the subject.

“It was fuckin’ great.” Wynonna wiggled her eyebrows, a mischievous grin on her face. “Gus and Curtis were out, so Dolls brought me dinner. Let’s just say, we _definitely_ skipped to dessert."

Waverly’s face scrunched up in disgust, “Gross, Nonna.”

“Hey, you’re not the only one gettin’ some in this family!”

“Oh my God, I’m not sleeping with someone!”

“Who’s sleepin’ with who?”

Waverly groaned at the familiar voice of her ex-boyfriend; she turned to see Champ leaning up against one of the lockers. “None of your business.”

“Ouch.” Champ made his way over to the sisters, throwing an arm over each of them. “Wave, it’s okay if you like someone new.”

“Yeah, _Wave_ , it’s okay if you’re gettin’ dicked down by someone else.”

“It might not be my-”

“… and I’m done.” Waverly shoved Champ off of her and took off down the hall, rolling her eyes as she went. Wynonna was driving her crazy lately and if she was being honest, she loved spending time at Nicole’s house because she didn’t have to deal with her sister’s antics. She knew that Wynonna’s comments were mostly jokes, but they still drove her crazy; sometimes she hated having overly protective sisters who wanted to know every little detail about her life.

“You look like you want to kill someone.” Chrissy said as Waverly passed her locker; she had quickly grabbed her things and fallen into step with her best friend. “What’s wrong?”

“My sister is a shit ticket!”

Chrissy laughed, “Well yeah, I could’ve told you that.”

“She thinks I’m sleeping with someone and keeps insisting that it’s Champ, but it’s not.” Waverly huffed as she stopped off at her locker. “I mean, I’m not even sleeping with anyone at all!”

“Really?” Chrissy leaned up against the lockers. “No one at all?”

“No.” Waverly said, matter of fact. “Just tutoring with Nicole and that’s it.”

“Then tell Wynonna that.” Chrissy said. “It’ll get her off your back.”

“Uh, no, it’ll make her angry and she’ll wanna fight Nicole for needing my help.” Waverly said. “You know she can’t stand her.”

“Nicole did get into a fight with her last year.”

“Only because Wynonna started it.” Waverly waved her off. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter, it happened and there’s nothing I can do about it. Nicole needs my help and I promised to help her, that’s all.”

“Mhm, whatever you say, Wave.”

Waverly grabbed several texts books from her locker just as the first bell rang, signaling the start of class, “I’ll see you at lunch, okay?”

Chrissy nodded, “Yeah, totally.”

///

** Saturday: April 21st, 2019 – 6:30PM **

****

****

“So, Waverly’s been over a lot lately.” Laura said as she set her menu down on the table. She and Nicole had decided last minute to forgo cooking at home and instead chose to drive into the city to grab some dinner; it was better than sitting at home and wallowing in self-pity over Mack’s news.

Nicole shrugged; she balled up her straw wrapper, refusing to look at her mother. “Yeah, I guess. She’s, uh, been helping me study.”

“A lot of studying you guys do.” Laura teased. “Every time I see you two together you’re either watching tv or cuddling on the couch.”

“That was one time… and we didn’t even cuddle!”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Laura relaxed back into the booth. “You like her.”

“By now everyone knows that I’ve had a crush on Waverly Earp since I’ve moved here.” Nicole deadpanned. “I have eyes and I’m super gay.”

Laura laughed, “Yes, yes you are, love.”

“We’re just friends.” Nicole said. “Nothing more.”

“Even though you want it to be?”

“We’re two different people.” Nicole said. “It’ll never work.”

“You’ve come so far though in such a short amount of time.” Laura reminded her. “Just a month ago you couldn’t stand each other and now she’s at our house every single day spending time with you.”

“Because I need a tutor.”

“Oh, cut the shit, Cole.” Laura said. “You’re blind if you don’t think that girl doesn’t have some sort of feelings towards you.”

“Have you bumped your head?” Nicole asked. “I’m not her type.”

“I think that you are.” Laura said. “Honey, either way you look at it, this is inevitable. I know you guard your heart because of what happened with Shae but when are you going to let yourself be happy, hmm?”

“I… I wasn’t even in love with Shae, but it still made me feel like I wasn’t good enough.” Nicole said. “Waverly is my soulmate but what happens if… I just don’t want to get hurt again.”

“I think Waverly is more than you give her credit for.” Laura said. “She’s trying, Cole, I can tell. I think you’re both just very young and trying to figure out how to go about things at your own pace.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Nicole said. “With what’s going on with dad, I shouldn’t be focusing on a relationship anyways.”

“Your father wouldn’t want you to put your life on hold because of his condition.” Laura said, matter of fact. “Have you talked to Waverly about your feelings?”

“What? Hell no!”

“Maybe you should.” Laura said. “You can clear the air and see where you stand with each other. You may both want the same thing, or maybe you don’t but it’s best to find out before you’re in too deep, don’t you think?”

“I have feelings mother, I think I’m already in too deep.”

“I just don’t want you to miss out on something so important because you’re scared of what might happen.” Laura said. “Where’s my cocky, confident daughter who always goes for what she wants, huh?”

“I… it’s different… with her.” Nicole admitted, a sheepish look on her face. “I really, _really_ like and I don’t want to ruin what we have.”

The waiter came and took their orders before Laura continued, a gentle smile playing at her lips. “Follow your heart, okay? Your dad and I met at a young age and look at where we are now.”

  
“You also fell in love with each other in like five seconds and didn’t have an entire group of people who hated him for being who he was.” Nicole said.

“They just don’t know you.” Laura said. “Given the chance, they’ll realize that you’re someone that they want in your corner.”

“I don’t think it’s that easy.”

“You won’t know until you try.”

Nicole ran a hand through her hair, “It’s only a crush, it’ll go away.”

“You just said you have feelings.”

Nicole waved her off. “It’ll be fine.”

“It’ll be even better if you _talk_ to Waverly.”

“Oh, would you look at that, I really have to pee.” Nicole stood up, adjusting her t-shirt. “Be right back.”

Laura shook her head with a roll of her eyes. “You can’t avoid this forever, hun.”

Nicole sent finger guns her way; avoidance was her best and worst quality. “Watch me, Momma.” She said before turning on her heel and making her way towards the bathroom. Waverly Earp was more than a crush at this point, and Nicole knew she had feelings for her but there was no was possible she would ever tell the junior; she wasn’t stupid.

Besides, Waverly was only spending so much time with her because she knew what it was like to lose a parent and didn’t want to be a shitty friend.

Nothing more, nothing less.


	11. Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly go on a 'not' date. Let's see how well that works out, shall we?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Avengers Endgame Spoilers ahead! It's been a year but just in case someone hasn't seen it. Also, some of Nicole's reaction is definitely how I felt leaving the theater. My heart still hurts.

** Tuesday: April 30th, 2019 – Afternoon **

“Still no word from you sister?” Mack asked his daughter as they spoke over Facetime for the first time in over two weeks.

Nicole shook her head, “Not since Doc texted me.”

Mack sighed heavily, “I’m sure she’s just fine, yeah?”

Nicole nodded and dropped her head onto her knee, just happy to talk to her dad. She had spent the last few weeks so angry at him and she was tired; she didn’t know how much longer they had together, and she didn’t want to waste the time they had left on being mad at him. “How are you?” She asked.

Mack shrugged, running a hand through his thinning hair. “I’m okay.” He said, a small smile on his face. He had lost some weight since he left, his cheekbones stuck out more, and his eyes were sunken in, “Could be worse, I guess.”

“When will you be home?” Nicole asked.

“A few weeks, give or take.” Mack said. “Trevor just got here last night with his family and I have to update him on a few things before I can leave.”

“Oh.” Nicole pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “Alright then.”

“How’s your mother?” Mack asked. “She’s not working too much, is she?”

“No, she’s not.” Nicole lied; she didn’t need to stress him out any more than he already was. Laura was working an insane number of hours lately, trying to distract herself from her husband’s cancer but he didn’t need to know that. “We’re all fine, dad, you don’t have to worry about us.” 

“I’m your dad, it’s my job.” Mack laughed. “How are things with Waverly?”

Nicole groaned, “Not you too!”

Mack chuckled, “I just hear she’s been at the house a lot lately.”

“We’re just friends.”

“Do you not realize that your mother tells me everything?”

“I’m just… we’re just… it’s fine.” Nicole huffed. “Waverly and I are friends and that’s it. Can we drop it, please?”

Mack held his hands up in defeat, “Sure, Cole.”

“Thank you.” Nicole said, relieved. “Being soulmates is pressure enough and I don’t want her to feel like she has to like me or whatever.”

“Did you ever think that she actually likes you for who you are now that she’s actually gotten to know you? She could have feelings for you too.” 

“Highly unlikely.” Nicole tapped her fingers against the couch. “ _Anyways_. I’m really upset that you’re not here for the release of Endgame.”

“Um… is now a bad time to tell you that I’ve already seen it?”

Nicole practically jumped off of the couch, “What? How? When? Dad!”

“There was an early release last week.” Mack said, an apologetic look on his face. “I know it’s our thing, _but_ several cast members were here for a release tour and I couldn’t say no. Let me just say, it was great.”

Nicole held a hand to her chest, “I’m offended. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive you for this for as long as live. We’ve seen every single movie together!”

“Hey, I have an idea.” Mack said, a mischievous grin on his. “Why don’t you ask Waverly to go with you this weekend?”

“I can’t do that!” Nicole said, embarrassed at the thought. Superhero movies, specifically the Marvel ones, were her favorites but she refused to say that out loud. Years ago, her ex-girlfriend, Shae, used to make fun of her for it so she stopped talking about it. She didn’t need Waverly to find out and have another reason to stop being her friend; they were already so different. Besides, this was a tradition with her dad and Nicole didn’t know if she was ready to bring another person in on it; even if that person was her soulmate. “I just… this town already hates me enough, you know? I don’t need to give them another reason to make my life any more difficult.”

“Cole, take a chance for once.” Mack said. “If anyone makes fun of you for going to see one of the most successful movies of all time, fuck them. You never care what people say, why start now?”

“You’re right.”

Mack shrugged, “It’s a damn movie, Cole, not a marriage proposal.”

“I’ll think about it.” Nicole said; it _would_ be nice to be able to go with someone and since her sister was nowhere to be found…

“Listen, I gotta go.” Mack said. “I love you, kid.”

“Hey dad?”

“Hmm?  
  


Nicole ran a hand through her hair, “I’m sorry… about how I acted when you were here. I just want you to know that I understand why you hid it, even if I don’t really like it.”

Mack smiled at her, “Water under the bridge, Cole. Now, I’ve really gotta go. Love you bunches, kiddo!”

“Love you, too!”

///

** Wednesday: May 1st, 2019 – Afternoon **

“Nic, do you like movies?”

“Uh, yes?”

Waverly closed her textbook and dropped her hands onto the table. “Do you wanna go see the new Avengers movie with me this weekend? I know it’s probably not your thing, but I really want to see it and I hate going to the movies by myself. I’d ask Jeremy, but he already has plans with Robin and Wynonna refuses to go with me.”

****

****

“My dad was literally telling me last night to invite you to go with me.”

“What?”

Nicole cleared her throat and straightened up, “Nothing, I just… I didn’t expect you to be into those types of movies. I see you as more as a romance type of girl, with the occasional documentary on the side.”

“I _love_ superhero movies!” Waverly gushed, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice. “Marvel is my favorite, but I like DC too. I was going to go last week but I was too busy with cheer to make time for it.”

“Who’s your favorite superhero?”

“Iron Man and Scarlett Witch.” Waverly said, matter of fact. “I can’t choose between them.”

“Me too!” Nicole said. “Black Widow and Cap are right behind them though.”

“You like the movies too?”

“I, uh, own every single movie and maybe, possibly have a collection of comics.” Nicole admitted. “Kids at my old school used to make fun of me for it so I hid it all away. My dad and I have gone to every single opening night together since I was seven.”

“So, you’ll go with me?” Waverly asked.

“Sure, Wave.” Nicole said. “I’d love to.”

“Awesome; we can go Friday! I hope that’s okay because I have a family thing on Saturday for my aunt and uncle.” Waverly said.

Nicole nodded, “I’m down with whatever you want, Wave.”

“Cool.” Waverly couldn’t keep the smile from her face. “Awesome.”

  
Nicole laughed softly, “We could even go to the big city? They have a huge ass theater there with recliners and waiters so we don’t have to get up during the movie and miss anything!”

“I’ve never been!”

“You haven’t?” Nicole scoffed. “Well then, we have to go. I can’t have you watching what’s going to be one of the best movies to ever be released in a mediocre small-town theater.”

“The reviews are great, aren’t they?”

  
“For sure.” Nicole agreed. “I can’t wait.”

///

** Friday: May 3rd, 2019 – 5:37PM **

“Oh my God, you have a date!”

“No, I don’t!” Waverly said.

Willa fell onto her little sister’s bed, chin in her hands as she watched Waverly get ready. “You’re going to dinner and a movie.”

“Friends do that, you know.”

“Honestly Wave, you’re both so stupid.” Willa said; she was home for the weekend for her aunt and uncle’s 42nd wedding anniversary. She nearly died of excitement when she found out Waverly and Nicole had ‘friendly plans’ that night. “Either way, I’m happy for you.”

“Again, not a big deal.”

“She’s taking you to the nicest movie theater in town!” Willa exclaimed. “It costs $15.00 for a small popcorn!”

Waverly met her sister’s eyes through the mirror, “What!?”

“Yeah!” Willa told her. “Robert took me one time and I almost had a heart attack. Turns out he was trying to woo me, it was actually super cute, but I told him he didn’t have to do that because I already liked him.”

“It’s not like that.” Waverly said, heart fluttering in her chest; she had asked Nicole to a movie, not the other way around. There was no way Nicole was trying to woo her, was she? It wasn’t even a date, right? Waverly hadn’t meant for it to sound like one, or had she? Panic rose in her belly, eyes wide. “Oh God, what if she thinks this is a date?”

“Would that be the worst thing in the world?”

“Yes! No, I mean, ugh!” Waverly ran a hand through her curly hair. “We’ve never talked about… things. Why is this so confusing?”

“Because you refuse to talk to her about possible feelings and instead choose to live your life in denial because you’re too scared to find out that she likes you too?”

Waverly glared at her. “That’s not true!”

Willa rolled her eyes, “Sure it’s not.”  
  


“I don’t want to get hurt.” Waverly said, voicing her fears for the first time out loud since she truly realized her feelings for the redhead. “We’re so different but so similar at the same time. She puts on this hard exterior but she’s honestly the sweetest person I’ve ever met. What if… what if it’s all just an act, like with Champ? He was all in until we were together and then everything stopped.”

“You can’t live your life in fear, Wave.” Willa said for the umpteenth time. “It’s clear Nicole isn’t the person you once thought she was. I might not get to see how you guys are together but from what you’ve told me, there’s something there. I’m not saying you have to go all in tonight, but you shouldn’t push it away like there isn’t a possibility for more.”

“Maybe-”

“Whatcha guys talkin’ about?” Wynonna asked, abruptly ending their conversation by kicking open Waverly’s bedroom door with a loud crash. She stumbled into the room, a bottle of whiskey in her hand.

“N- nothing!” Waverly pulled on her sandals, avoiding Wynonna’s questioning gaze. “Just discussing Curtis and Gus’ anniversary tomorrow.”

Wynonna looked between the two of them. “O… kay.”

“Well, gotta go!” Waverly grabbed her purse, pressed a kiss to Wynonna’s cheek and slipped out of her bedroom door without another word. “See you later, guys!”

///

Nicole made her way out of her house, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw Waverly step out of her jeep. The brunette was in skin-tight white skinny jeans and a maroon crop top that fit her in all the right places. The redhead swallowed thickly, pushing every gay thought she ever had to the back of her mind as she walked over to the junior.

“Hey Nic!” Waverly greeted, a huge smile on her face.

“Hi there.” Nicole said, trying her best not to check Waverly out. If she didn’t handle her feelings and soon she was going to be totally screwed. An entire night out with Waverly Earp looking like _that,_ it was bound to end in disaster if she didn’t get her shit together. If she was too gay to function, how would she be able to spend time with the younger girl without making an utter fool out of herself? “Ready to go?”

Waverly nodded and followed Nicole to her car, not so subtly checking the senior out. The senior was in dark blue skinny jeans and a black _The Amity Affliction_ t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up, showing off her muscles and white Vans. “Yeah, totally!”

Nicole slipped into the driver’s seat and waited until Waverly was safely buckled next to her before pulling out of her driveway and onto the main road. “Any ideas where you want to get food?”

“You choose.”

Nicole was silent for a while as they drove through town, trying to think of a place to eat that they would both like. “There’s a really good taco place in the city, if you’re okay with that?”

“Vegan options?”  
  


“Of course.” Nicole said. “So, yeah?”

Waverly nodded, “Fine with me.”

///

An hour later, Nicole and Waverly made their way into the theater and over to the tiny kiosk to purchase their tickets. Waverly picked the seats and Nicole paid; she handed one of the tickets to the brunette. “There ya go.”

“Thank you for the ticket.” Waverly said as they made their way to the concession stand. “… but I’m getting the snacks.”

“You don’t have to.”

“You paid for dinner AND our tickets.” Waverly said. “Besides, I’m the one who asked you to come and it’s only fair that I pay for something.”

“Only if you’re sure.”

“I am.” Waverly said and walked up to the register to get their snacks and drinks. She quickly paid for their items and followed Nicole into the theater. “The amount of sugar you’re about to consume, I don’t think you’ll ever sleep again, Nic.”

Nicole looked down at the goodies in her hands, a dopey grin on her face. “It’s not _that_ much, Wave.”

“You have a giant slushy, three types of candy and popcorn.”

Nicole shrugged, “It’s a long movie?”

Waverly laughed as she followed Nicole to their seats, “I’m only judging you a little, don’t worry.”

“I’ll share with you.”

Waverly’s heart flipped inside her chest; Champ never offered to share with her, no matter what it was. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

“You ready for this?” Nicole asked as she settled into her seat.

Waverly nodded, “You?”  
  


“I haven’t seen any spoilers, so I have no idea what to expect.”

The lights started to dim, “Yeah, me either.”

/// 

  
“Nic, you gonna be okay?” Waverly asked, a worried look on her face as they made their way back to the redhead’s car. The movie had just ended, and the redhead hadn’t spoken in the last twenty minutes. She had been shocked by the outcome of one of her favorite characters, but she never expected Nicole to take it so hard. It was both adorable and endearing how personal the redhead was taking the movie.

“They killed him.” Nicole said, a frown on her face. “They killed Tony Stark.”

Waverly nodded, “Yeah, they did.”

“They killed Black Widow.” Nicole unlocked her car, eyes far away. “Eleven years of my life and it’s all gone. Waverly, I have emotions.”

“Do you need to book a therapy session?”

“I actually think I need to.” Nicole said as she climbed into her car. “I didn’t think they’d kill him! I mean, it’s Iron Man! How are you gonna give him a family and then have him die, that’s not okay!”

Waverly sat in the passenger’s seat, watching as Nicole slowly started to unravel. Part of her thought that maybe, just maybe Tony Stark’s death had more to do with her personal life and not the fact that her favorite character had been killed off. “Nic, breathe.”

Nicole dropped her head onto the steering wheel, “He shouldn’t have died, Waverly; his little girl needed him.”

Waverly’s heart broke inside her chest as she watched Nicole’s shoulders drop, “Hey, it’s going to be okay.”

“It’s not fair.” Nicole mumbled, tears in her eyes. Iron Man was her favorite character and she was devastated at his death, but it hit a little too close to home. She was about to lose her dad and she didn’t want to grow up in a world without him; it wasn’t right.

Waverly dropped her hand onto Nicole’s back, rubbing small, comforting circles to try and calm her. “You can talk to me, you know.”

Nicole shook her head and wiped her eyes before straightening up; she didn’t need to ruin Waverly’s night because of her issues. “No, I’m sorry. I just… I had a moment, but I’m good.”

“You don’t need to hide with me.” Waverly told her and that was true; Nicole could talk to her about anything and she would listen for however long the older girl needed her to. “I’m here and I’m not going anywhere, Nic.”

Nicole turned to look at her, a sad smile on her face, “One minute I think I’m going to be fine and then out of nowhere it hits me. I’m pretty good at keeping it all in but sometimes it’s too much.”

“That’s okay.” Waverly assured her. “If you want to talk, I’m here. If you need someone to listen, I’m here. Whatever it is, I’m right here. You don’t have to go through this alone.”

“Thank you.” Nicole said sincerely. “You have no idea how much that means to me, Waverly. I… just thank you.”

“Come on, we can stop for ice cream on the way back to your place; it always makes me feel better when I’m feeling down.”

///

Nicole tossed their trash from the ice cream place into the trash can as she shut and locked her car door. “You wanna come in?” She asked.

Waverly looked down at her phone and frowned, “I’d love to but it’s Gus and Curtis’ anniversary party tomorrow and I have to be up early to help decorate.”

“How long have they been together?” Nicole asked as she walked Waverly to her jeep; she leaned up against the door, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Forty-four years but they’ve been married for forty-two.” Waverly said, a smile on her face at the thought of her aunt and uncle. “They’re the definition of true soulmates. Even after all this time Curtis brings Gus handpicked flowers every single day when he gets done with the farm; it’s really cute.”

“I’d kill for that.” Nicole realized what she said and looked down at her shoes, “I mean… that’s really sweet.”

“Yeah, it is. Who knows, maybe someday we’ll have that with someone, right?” Waverly tried to laugh it off, but it fell flat; the thought of not having a happily ever after with her soulmate turned her stomach. “I should probably go.”

Nicole nodded, “Okay.”

Waverly rocked on her heels. “You’re gonna be okay?”

“I will be, yeah.” Nicole met hazel eyes. “Text me when you’re home.”

“I always do.” Waverly hesitated a moment before pressing a quick kiss to Nicole’s cheek. She whispered a final goodnight and climbed into her jeep, her body shaking with nerves as she pulled out of the driveway.

Nicole stared after her, eyes wide.

Waverly fuckin’ Earp just kissed her on the cheek.

Normally she would be ecstatic, but she was more confused than anything. Waverly just made it seem like they wouldn’t find happiness in each other, yet she ended their night together with a kiss on the cheek? Nicole has never had many close friendships in her life, but she’s almost certain that wasn’t how most people ended their time together.

Was Waverly only being nice because of her dad?  
  


Was Nicole thinking too much into it?  
  


Did Waverly have feelings for her too?  
  


“No.” Nicole shook her head at the thought as she made her way into the house. “Waverly doesn’t see you like that, Haught, get it together.”

///

**_ Saturday: May 4th, 2019 - Afternoon _ **

“Her dad has cancer?” Willa asked, a frown on her face as she set the cake down on the kitchen counter. “Oh my God, that’s awful.”

“She doesn’t talk about it much, but sometimes it comes out of nowhere.” Waverly set several cans of soda on the table. “Then she’ll act like it’s no big deal and move on. I wish I could help her, but I don’t know how.”

“Just be there for her.” Willa shrugged. “That’s all you can do.”

“Nic has a relationship with her parents that we never had, it’s… I’ve only seen bits and pieces of it but I’m afraid that she’s going to completely fall apart when something happens, and I won’t be able to stop it.”

“Like I said, just let her know you’re there for her.” Willa started to get the food from the fridge. “Showing support goes a long way.”

“I just feel so bad for her.” Waverly said. “Her mom works all the time and she still hasn’t heard from her older sister. I’ve been staying over there a lot, so she doesn’t have to be alone and-”

“You like being in her company?” Willa asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Yes, that too.”

“You’re doing all you can and I’m sure she notices that.” Willa said. “Either way, it sucks all around, you know?”  
  


“Yeah.” Waverly said sadly. “I know.”

“So.” Willa said, trying to change the subject to something less dark, for both of their sakes. “How was your date?”

“It wasn’t a date!”

“How was your friendly excursion, then?”

“We got tacos on the way and then Nicole paid for our tickets…”

“She bought your tickets? Yep, definitely a date.”

“I got our snacks, Will. Not a date.”

Willa rolled her eyes, “Anyways!”

“It was amazeballs!” Waverly gushed. “I’ve waited years for this movie and it was perfect! I love Jeremy, but he talks the entire time and Nicole doesn’t. She loves the same characters as me and even though she’ll never admit it, she definitely cried when Tony died. I mean, so did I but can you blame me?”  
  


“I have no idea who Tony is.”

“Iron Man!”

“Oh.” Willa shrugged. “No idea.”

“Of course.” Waverly sighed. “Either way, it was awesome.”

“I’m glad you had a great time… on your date!”

“What date?” Wynonna asked, walking into the room; she was notorious for walking in at the most random moments.

“Uh, the- the date!” Waverly stuttered out. “You know, today’s date!”

Wynonna narrowed her eyes at her little sister. “What?”

“Oh, nothing!” Waverly waved her off as she thrust a roll of streamers into Wynonna’s arms. “Let’s decorate, shall we?”

“Okay…”

Wynonna watched as Waverly started to set up decorations, a suspicious look on her face. Her sister was being super secretively lately and even though she tried to act like she wasn’t, Waverly a terrible liar. One way or another, she was going to get to the bottom of it.

///

Later that night, Gus and Curtis piled onto the couch with Waverly; Bobo and Willa were in the chair across from them, curled into one another, Dolls and Wynonna on the floor. “Thank you girls for today, it was wonderful.” Curtis said, a huge grin on his face. “You have no idea how much it means to us.”

“It’s only right we celebrate the best couple in town.” Bobo said, raising a glass to the older couple. “Happy anniversary, guys!”

“Thank you, Robert.” Gus sent him a smile. “I only wish that you and Willa have the same happiness that we do.”

Willa poked Bobo in the cheek, “He’s stuck with me, no matter what.”

“That’s fine by me, my love.”

“Oh, gross, can’t you guys get a room?”

Dolls nudged his girlfriend in the ribs, “Be nice.”

“I mean, congratulations on the love or whatever.” Wynonna grumbled. “Totally hope to be in love with Xavier until we’re 80 years old too.”

“Geez thanks.” Dolls said sarcastically.

“We’re only in our sixties, you ass.” Gus swatted Wynonna with a throw pillow. “You act like you’re not romantic, but I’ve overheard you on the phone with Dolls, you aren’t that slick.”

Wynonna glared up at her aunt, “I have no idea what you’re talkin’ about!”

Curtis rolled his eyes at his niece, “Look at all of us here together. Next time, maybe Waverly’s soulmate can join us.”

“If I ever find out who they are.” Waverly laughed awkwardly; only Gus and Willa still knew about it and she wasn’t about to change that now. “I can’t wait to have a love like yours.”

“When you find that person, it’ll be worth it.” Gus said, a knowing look on her face. “It might be hard, but I promise you it’ll all make sense in the end. The Universe knows what it’s doing, even if we don’t believe it at the time. If you truly believe and put in the effort, the love you have with your soulmate will only grow stronger as you grow older. Just remember, when you _do_ meet your soulmate, it might not always be rainbows and butterflies. Sometimes it takes work but that doesn’t mean you give up. I think the best bonds are made when you have to fight to be together, but hey, that’s just me.”

“You think so?” Waverly asked.

“Some of the best things in life are thrown at us in the most unexpected ways.” Curtis said. “If you have faith, it’ll work out. The thought of soulmates can be scary, but I promise you, you’ll want to try your very best to make it work.”

“Follow your heart.” Willa said, a knowing look in her eyes. “It’ll all work out, baby sis, I promise.”

Waverly nodded, relaxing into the couch, “Yeah, maybe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those of you that are waiting for Strangers Again, it's coming, but I'm struggling with the last two chapters because I want them to be perfect. I'm in the middle of buying a house this week so I'm super busy. Just a heads up, both stories MAY not be uploaded this upcoming week, but I'm not sure. I just didn't want to leave you all hanging in case.


	12. Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little rough and I'm not sure I'm happy with it but it's a huge part of moving the story forward. Our slow burn is turning into a somewhat medium burn after this.
> 
> Also, Laura is a nurse and she's dealt with two crazy daughters who always get into stuff from broken bones, to cuts and bruises, etc. What might seem crazy to us normal folk, might not seem crazy to a nurse. I work in home care and there are tons of instances where we think we need to send a client to the hospital for something big and our nurse thinks were crazy cause it can be handled at home. I just don't want people to think Laura is acting off or uncaring in this chapter because she's not, she's just a long-time nurse who know how serious a situation is due to how her daughters act.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: violence- someone is cornered, unable to escape, threatened, assaulted with a deadly weapon. There is NO sexual assault.

**_ Monday: May 6th, 2019 – 4:34AM_**

Champ awoke to the sound of his phone going off on his nightstand; he groaned, half asleep and rolled over to check who was texting him at this hour. He wasn’t currently seeing or hooking up with anyone, so he had no idea who would be messaging him before even God himself was awake.

He blinked slowly, trying to adjust to the bright light on his screen; he frowned when he saw that the text was from an unknown number. “What the fuck?”

**Unknown (4:43am)** _– image attached._

Champ opened the message, eyes growing wide at the picture. In the photo, there was someone with the same soulmate mark that Waverly had; it clearly wasn’t on a thigh, so Champ knew that whoever this was, it wasn’t Waverly.

**Champ (4:44am)** – Who is this?

**Unknown (4:47am)** – _Someone who’s looking out for Waverly._

**Unknown (4:47am)** – _image attached._

Champ opened the new message and shot up, an anger in his eyes as realization hit him. Nicole Haught was in the picture, changing shirts in the locker room and circled in a bright red marker was a tattoo on her ribs; the exact same one that Waverly had.

**Champ (4:49am)** – How did you get this?

**Unknown (4:57am)** – _It’s best that you don’t know. I sent this to you in good faith that you would take out the trash. Waverly is too good for that disgusting bitch and I have a feeling you won’t have a problem taking care of her._

**Champ (5:01am)** – Gladly.

///

**_ Monday: May 6th, 2019 – Afternoon _ **

**__ **

**__ **

Nicole made her way out of detention, sighing in relief at not having to deal with Mrs. Reese any longer. The older woman loved to tell stories and she droned on and on, making the redhead want to jump off a cliff; it wouldn’t be so bad if the stories were actually interesting, but they weren’t. She wouldn’t have even been there if it hadn’t been for Waverly. The brunette had pulled her into an empty classroom earlier that day and asked her to hang out after cheer practice; it wasn’t Nicole’s fault that she missed the late bell.

Nicole made her way out of the building and to her car, only to pause a few feet away when she saw Champ and several of his buddies at her car. The redhead groaned and walked over to the football players. “Hey idiots, I don’t know if you know this or not, but this is my car.”

“Oh, we know.” Champ spat, eyes narrowed.

“Well, move.” Nicole tried to push past them but Alex, one of the bigger guys on the football team took a step towards her. The redhead huffed. “Uh, alright then. How can I help you boys?”

“You just think you’re so funny, don’t you?” Champ straightened up. “Show me your soulmate tattoo, Haught.”

“What? No.” Nicole stiffened, a panic rising in her chest.

“Show. Me.” Champ demanded.

“Fuck off, Hardy.” Before Nicole could even register what was happening, she was slammed into the side of her car, being held down by Alex and Tim, the other football player. “Get the hell off me!”

Champ smirked, an evil grin on his face. “I tried to be nice but…”

Nicole thrashed in their arms, but she knew it was no use; they were twice her size. “You piece of shit!”

Champ slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a switchblade. “You don’t deserve her, you know.” Champ grabbed the hem of Nicole’s white t-shirt. “I’ve always seen the way you look at her, even when she was _mine_. It’s gross, almost obsessive; it wouldn’t surprise me if you saw her tattoo while changing and got a tattoo to match.”

Nicole’s jaw dropped at the accusation. “I’m sorry, are you stupid?” She was eyeing the switchblade in Champ’s hands; he was normally all bark and no bite but there was something different about him today. “Do you really think that I would go out of my way to get a fuckin’ tattoo so I could match Waverly?”

Champ shrugged, “With your kind, it wouldn’t surprise me.”

Nicole snarled, trying to shove Alex and Tim off of her but they only held on tighter; her feet were barely touching the ground. “My kind? I’m gay, not a god damned alien, you fuckin’ douche canoe.”

“You talk a big game for someone who has nowhere to go.” Champ said and pulled her t-shirt up. He clenched his jaw, anger in his veins at seeing the same exact tattoo on Nicole’s skin that Waverly had. “Fuck.”

“That seems to be everyone’s reaction when they find out we’re soulmates.” Nicole said, kicking her feet out. “There, you saw it, now tell the whole school and leave me the fuck alone!”

Champ ran the blade of the knife against her skin, “Waverly is too good for you. I feel so bad that she has you as a soulmate. We can fix it though, can’t we? They say if you damage a tattoo bad enough, the connection goes away.”

“What?” Nicole’s eyes widened, and she fought as hard as she could to get away but no matter what, she couldn’t. She hadn’t ever been so scared in her life; it wasn’t her fault that she was Waverly’s soulmate. If Champ wanted to blame anyone, the Universe was his best shot. “Champ, buddy, let’s talk about this.”

“I’m done talkin’ to you.” Champ said, the blade of the knife pressed against her soul mark. He went to press down but froze, unable to go through with it. No matter how much he despised Nicole Haught, even he couldn’t cross that line, although he wanted to. The football player dropped his hand to his side with a sigh. “Damn it!”

Nicole sighed in relief, heart beating rapidly in her chest. “You can’t even go through with it!” She laughed, trying to mask her nerves. Was she shaking? She was definitely shaking. If Kayla or Waverly were here, they would tell her to shut the hell up, but she just couldn’t help it; she refused to back down. Maybe this was why she always got into fights; she didn’t know when to be quiet.

Champ glared at her, switchblade gripped tightly in his hand. “Shut up!”

“No.” Nicole said. “You can’t make me.”

“What are you? Four? Jesus Hardy give me the damn knife.” Tim tore the knife from Champ’s hand, turned to Nicole and shrugged before slashing the blade hard across her skin. He wiped the blood off on his jeans and shoved the knife back into Champ’s hands. “There, job done; fuckin’ pussy.”

Nicole cried out in pain as the blade slashed her skin, bringing tears to her eyes. Her soul mark was on fire, burning so hot it made her dizzy; if she wasn’t being held up, she would’ve crumped to the ground. “Fuck!” She hissed, vision blurry; it was the worst pain she had ever felt, and she’s broken _a lot_ of bones.

Champ stared at the slash, eyes wide, “Tim, holy shit, you cut her!”

“No shit.” Tim released his hold on the redhead, causing her to collapse onto the ground. “She’ll be fine, it’s just a graze.”

Nicole pressed her hand against the wound; she couldn’t really see it because of the blood but she knew it was deep. “Shit.”

“Come on, dude, we gotta get outta here.” Alex said, a panic in his eyes; he had a scholarship waiting for him at the end of the year and couldn’t afford to lose it.

Champ ran a hand through his hair, “Waverly’s gonna kill me! We… we should call an ambulance or somethin’!”

“Leave the dyke here, she won’t tell anyone; not like they’ll believe her anyway.” Tim shoved his teammates towards Champ’s truck. “She ain’t gonna die, bud, but I think she got the message.”

///

Waverly was in the middle of cheer practice, at the top of the pyramid when she felt a pain so strong in her thigh it caused her to lose her balance and tumble to the ground, crashing hard. She hissed in pain, but it was nothing compared to the pain she felt where her tattoo was. Tears filled her eyes as she stood up, grinding her teeth; something was very, very wrong.

“Wave, holy shit, are you okay?” Chrissy asked, a panic in her eyes.

“I...” Waverly stuttered, blinking back tears. The more it burned, the more the panic in her stomach rose. Nicole. Something happened to Nicole and she needed to find her; that was the only explanation for the pain she felt. “I’ve gotta go. I’ve gotta find… practice is over!”

“What? We’ve only been here for twenty minutes!” Stephanie complained.

  
“Fine then, you take over for the day, I don’t care!” Waverly wiped furiously at her eyes, grabbed her cheer bag and ran off the field, heart beating rapidly in her chest. She pulled her phone from her purse and called the redhead but there was no answer. “Fuck! Shit! Fuck!”

She made her way through the student parking lot, eyes on her phone, hoping and praying that the pain in her thigh had nothing to do with her mark and that everything was actually fine with Nicole. She had read the stories, heard people talk about it. Sometimes, when your soulmate was truly hurt, especially when a bond was very strong, whether you knew it or not, you could feel their pain, letting you know that something wasn’t okay, no matter how far apart you were. The entire time she’s had her tattoo, she’s never felt a pain like this, not once. 

Waverly was almost to her jeep when spotted Nicole’s car across the parking lot. Knowing that the redhead should’ve already been long gone, she took off running towards the black sedan, fear building in the pit of her stomach. She was several feet away when she stopped dead, eyes growing wide. “Nicole!” The brunette rushed forward, dropping down next to the senior.

  
“Oh, Wave, hey.” Nicole looked up from her wound. “What’s up?”

“What happened?” Waverly asked, taken aback by the blood.

“Just bleedin’ a little.”

Waverly pulled her shirt she wore to school out of her cheer bag and pressed it to Nicole’s cut; it wasn’t life threatening, but she was still concerned. “Who did this to you, Nic?”

“I’m not a snitch.” Nicole said, a dopey grin on her face as she looked at Waverly. “You’re pretty.”

“You’re delusional.” Waverly said with a roll of her eyes; now wasn’t the time to dwell on the words Nicole was saying. “We have to get you to the hospital.”

“It’s fine.” Nicole waved her off, accidentally getting blood on Waverly’s cheer uniform. “Oops, sorry. I’m just stabbed a bit. Well, is a slash even a stab? It doesn’t hurt that much, but my tattoo is on fire.”

“Who did this to you?” Waverly asked again as she hoisted Nicole up onto her feet. “ _Why_ did someone do this to you?”

“Aliens! No, dinosaurs!” Nicole said. “I told you, I ain’t no snitch.”

“You’re insufferable.” Waverly grabbed Nicole’s keys from her pocket and unlocked the passenger door. She shoved the senior as gently as she could into the car before climbing into the driver’s seat. “We should call your mom.”

“If you wreck my baby, I’ll kill you.”

“Nicole, stop trying to be funny right now, you’re hurt!”

“Only really my tattoo!” Nicole told her. “That’s all!”

“Still!” Waverly said. “That’s a lot of blood!”

“How did you find me?”

“My tattoo let me know.” Waverly said as she drove them towards the closest hospital. “It burned, and I just felt like you weren’t okay.”

“Awe, you care.” Nicole hummed, relaxing a bit into the seat as the burn slowly started to subside.

“Of course I do.” Waverly said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“… and we thought we’d never get here.”

Waverly huffed, “Give me your phone.”

Nicole turned to look at her, “Why?”

“Because I said so.” Waverly said, no room for argument as she held out her hand.

Nicole grumbled and pulled her phone from her back pocket; she handed it to Waverly with a frown on her face.

“What?” Waverly asked as she pulled up Laura’s number; she pressed call and put the phone to her ear.

“Nothing.”

Waverly was about to ask another question but was cut off by Laura, who had answered the phone. “Mrs. Haught, it’s Waverly. I’m sorry to bother you but Nicole is hurt and needs stitches.”

_“What happened?”_ Laura asked, concern in her voice. “ _… and Waverly, dear, please call me Laura. You’re my daughter’s soulmate for crying out loud.”_

Waverly couldn’t help but smile at the remark. “She won’t tell me but it’s obvious someone did it to her.”

Laura sighed heavily, “ _Is she still conscious, being a smartass_?”

“More so than usual, yes.”

“ _Forgo the hospital and bring her home, I can stitch her up here_.” Laura said. “ _This isn’t my first rodeo_.”

“What!?”

“ _My daughters are a mess_.” Laura said. “ _I’ll have everything ready by the time you guys get here_.”

“Oh, okay.” Waverly said. “We’ll be there soon.”

“ _Good_.” Laura said. “ _Thank you, Waverly.”_

“Anytime.” Waverly said before hanging up the phone and shoving it back into Nicole’s hands. She made a U-turn and headed in the direction of the Haught house. “So, you’ve needed stitches before?”

“Yep.” Nicole said; she reached out and gently poked Waverly’s jaw. “You have the greatest jawline I’ve ever seen.”

Waverly pulled her lip between her teeth, trying to hide her blush. “You haven’t lost enough blood to be acting like this, you know.”

“Hey, I’m injured, let me live my life.”

“You told me it doesn’t even hurt that much.”

“No, but my tattoo does.”

“Will you tell me who hurt you?” Waverly asked, “Please?”

Nicole shook her head, “No idea.”  
  


“I’ll find out.” Waverly said, matter of fact.

“Probably, but I won’t be the one to tell you.”

///

“Another fight, Cole, really?” Laura led her daughter into the kitchen and onto a chair. Having been a nurse for twenty years, she knew when to panic and when not to and by the looks of Nicole’s cut, she knew that it was an easy fix.

“I didn’t get into a fight.” Nicole said. “I’m innocent!”

Laura gave her a look, eyebrow raised in disbelief. “Mhm.”

“I…” Nicole looked from Waverly to her mother. “I got cornered, okay? But that’s all you’re going to get from me.”

“By who?” Laura pressed on as she started to work on Nicole’s wound; she frowned at the gash across the tattoo. “Why your tattoo?”

Nicole shrugged and dropped her head back against the chair, jaw clenched as the needle pierced her skin. “Wish I knew.”

“You’re full of shit.” Laura said, “We don’t keep secrets in this house.”

“ _Some_ of us do.”

“ _Nicole Rayleigh-”_

“I said no!” Nicole spat, “Now drop it.”

Waverly stared at the redhead, “Nicole, please-”  
  


“Respect me enough to let it go.” Nicole winced in pain as her mom dug into a sensitive area. “Jesus, ouch!”

“Oh, stop, you big baby.” Laura wiped the freshly stitched wound clean and covered it with gauze. “Don’t touch it, pick at it or pull on it.”

“I know, mother.”

Laure packed up her kit and stood up, pressing a kiss to Nicole’s cheek. “I know you’re eighteen, Cole, but letting someone do this to you isn’t okay. You can tell us what happened when you’re ready, alright?”

“I’m fine.” Nicole pushed herself up, “Don’t worry about me.”

“Whatever you say. I’ll be in my room if you two need me.” Laura put the first-aid kit back into its normal spot and disappeared out of the room, giving the girls some privacy.

Waverly sat down next to Nicole, “You really won’t tell me?”  
  


Nicole pulled her t-shirt over the wound, ignoring the blood on it. “No.”

“But-”

“Can we just act like this never happened and order a pizza?”

“Why are you so okay with this?” Waverly asked, unable to keep her frustration at bay; she was worried about Nicole. “Someone hurt you.”

Nicole shrugged, “It happens.”

“You didn’t deserve it.” Waverly said.

“You don’t know that.”

“You haven’t gotten into a fight in weeks. Why now?” Waverly ran a hand through her hair. “We shouldn’t keep things from each other.”

“It’s not a big de-”

“If someone hurt me like this, would you just let it go?”

Nicole clenched her jaw at the thought, “That’s different.”

“How?” Waverly asked. “Nicole, you’re being ridiculous. How can we move forward if you can’t even trust me?”

“I do trust you.” Nicole said. “I just don’t want to worry you.”

“Newsflash, Nicole, I’m already worried!”

“I’m fine and it’s done with.” Nicole stood up, groaning in pain as her stitches pulled against her skin. “I’m going to go change into a clean shirt and then we can order pizza, yeah?”

“No.” Waverly crossed her arms tightly against her chest.

Nicole’s eyebrows scrunched together, “What do you mean no?”

“If you won’t talk to me, I don’t want to hang out with you today.”

“Wave-”

“You _scared_ me, Nicole.” Waverly said, matter of fact. “You aren’t taking this seriously and it’s driving me crazy.”

“I’m sorry.”

Waverly stood up and grabbed her things, sighing in defeat “I’m still gonna go.”

“Wait. No. Please don’t.”

Waverly met brown eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Why does it matter who did this?” Nicole asked. “It doesn’t change things!”

“I could do something about it!” Waverly said. “People can’t treat you like this, Nicole; it’s not right!”

Nicole ran a hand down her face, “Will you please just stay?”

“Will you tell me who did it?”

“No.”

Waverly huffed, “Then no.”

“You don’t even have a car.”

“I’ll take yours.”

Nicole shook her head, “No, you won’t.”

“Yes, I will.” Waverly said, leaving no room for argument. “When you finally stop acting like a child and realize how serious this is, come and find me.”

“Waverly-”

“Stop saying my name!”

Nicole threw her hands into the air “That’s your name!”

“Ugh!”

“I just don’t get why this matters so much!”

“Because I… we’re friends, Nicole and I care about you!” Waverly said. “I know it’s hard for you to believe but you mean a lot to me.”

Nicole’s eyes widened, “I do?”

“Yes, you idiot and seeing you hurt, it hurts me!”

Nicole looked down at her shoes, “I don’t want you upset.”

“Look, I’m not asking you to tell me every little thing there is about you if you don’t want to but… but someone hurt you and I’m afraid they’re going to do it again.”

“They won’t.” Nicole said.

“How do you know?”

“I just do.” Nicole said. “Now, can we please just drop it and hang out like we were supposed to? I’m okay, and that’s all that matters.”

Waverly sighed, dropping her hands onto the table. “ _Fine._ ”

Nicole smiled, relieved that Waverly wasn’t going home. “Thank you.”

Waverly gently pushed Nicole in the direction of the stairs. “This doesn’t change the fact that I’m still mad at you. Now, go change; I’ll order the pizza.”

“No olives!”

“Oh, you’re getting extra olives for the shit show you put me through today!”

Nicole pouted, “That’s not fair.”

Waverly pointed to the stairs. “Go.”

Nicole saluted and turned on her heel, heading up the stairs. “Yes ma’am!”

Waverly rolled her eyes as she pulled up the pizza place; Nicole Haught was going to be the death of her, that was for sure.


	13. Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kayla's back. Champ is an idiot. Waverly loses her shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really into dragging the Champ storyline for a long time so we'll be wrapping that part up in the next chapter or two. Our tiny gays have a lot more shit they have to deal with so they don't have time for a boy man.

**_ Tuesday: May 7th, 2019 – 8:01AM. _ **

“You just had to pull at your stitches, didn’t you!?” Waverly huffed as she set a clean piece of gauze onto Nicole’s cut. “Now we’re going to be late.”

“Technically we’re already late.”

Waverly glared up at the redhead, “I wouldn’t be if you would’ve taken me home last night like I had asked.”

“I literally said no, and you said okay; you didn’t put up much of a fight.” Nicole groaned as Waverly pushed down on her wound. “Ow!”

“Stop being a smartass.” Waverly taped the last piece before standing up. “There. Now don’t touch it again.”

“Yes, _mother_.”

Waverly washed her hands and grabbed her bag from off the kitchen floor. “Ready to go?”

Nicole nodded, a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach; what if Champ had told the whole school already? She didn’t care what people thought about her, but she was worried for Waverly; what if she wasn’t ready for people to know?

“Great.” Waverly handed Nicole her backpack. “Let’s go.”

Nicole followed the brunette out of the kitchen and into the foyer; she pulled open the front door, only to be pushed back by Kayla, who had stormed into the house. “Kayla! You’re here!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kayla grumbled, “Hi to you too.”

Nicole looked from her sister to Waverly then back to her sister. “I-”

“You need to stay, don’t you?” Waverly asked, a knowing look on her face.

Nicole pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded, “Yeah.”

“I’ll get your work for you.” Waverly held out her hand. “Keys please. I actually do need to get to school before first period ends.”

Nicole handed her the keys, “Don’t wreck my car.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Waverly squeezed her shoulder gently before taking off out of the house, leaving the two sisters alone.

“So, you guys together now?”

“What? No!” Nicole tossed her backpack onto the couch. “What made you finally decide to come home?”

“My credit card was cut off.”

“Oh.”

Kayla threw herself onto the loveseat. “Yep.”

“Glad you’re not dead.”

“Where’s mom?” Kayla asked.

“At work, she’s been working a lot of doubles lately.”

“Right.” Kayla tapped her fingers against her knees. “Cool.”

“So. You left me.” Nicole said, unable to keep the anger from her voice. “You left me when I needed you, Kay.”

“I needed some time away.” Kayla shrugged. “Sorry.”

“You didn’t stop to think that maybe I needed my sister?”

“You have Waverly.”

“That doesn’t mean you don’t matter.” Nicole huffed. “You left and I didn’t have my sister to talk to. You should’ve been here!”

“Life isn’t always about you, Cole!” Kayla hissed. “I needed to get away, okay? If you don’t understand that, maybe you don’t understand me at all!”

“You’re such an asshole!” Nicole threw her hands up in frustration, hissing in pain when her wound pulled against her skin. She bent over, tears burning at her eyes at the pain. “Fuck.”

“Hey, you okay?” Kayla asked, argument momentarily forgotten.

“Just a little stabbed.” Nicole grumbled as she straightened back up. “Got into a fight yesterday, no big deal.”

Kayla shot up; eyes wide. “What!? Does mom know?”

“Who do you think stitched me up?” Nicole waved her off. “I’m fine.”

“Who did this to you, Nicole?” Kayla asked, a look of concern on her face as she looked over her little sister. “Why?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Nicole said. “Can we continue our fight now?”

“No.” Kayla said, an anger in her eyes. “You may think this ‘badass’ attitude you’ve got going on is cute, but it’s not. I understood some of the fights, how you had to stand up for yourself but Nicole, being stabbed? No.”

“What do you mean no?”

“You have to tell the police.” Kayla said. “Press charges, make whoever did this to you pay. I know you don’t want to start shit here unless you really have to but this… this isn’t okay.”

“Why is everyone making a big deal about this?” Nicole huffed. “I just got jumped, it wasn’t the first time.”

“No, it wasn’t but it could’ve been the last.” Kayla said, arms crossed tightly across her chest. “You could’ve been killed, Cole, do you understand that?”

Nicole shook her head, “No, that wouldn’t of-”

“Don’t you _dare_ tell me that it couldn’t have happened because if someone was willing to _stab_ you, they were willing to go even further. This isn’t a punch to the face, this isn’t harmful words, this was assault.”

“You’re blowing this out of proportion.”

“No. You’re being a fuckin’ idiot.” Kayla said. “You wanna stay out of trouble? Fine. But you’ve _never_ been one to stay quiet when it comes to doing the right thing. I know you don’t think you deserve justice, but you do.”

“It was personal-”

Kayla ran a hand down her face, clearly irritated. “I don’t care if it was or wasn’t, you didn’t deserve this.”

“You don’t know that.”

“God! Just stop. Stop trying to be tough, okay? I know you and you think your issues don’t matter but they do. Mom, dad, me, we care about you. Waverly _cares_ about you. Personal or not, we live in a world where you can’t be silent. You’re lucky when other people aren’t. You don’t have to press charges; you don’t have to go through with a trial, but you need to tell the police.”

“I’ll think about it.” Nicole sat down next to her sister.

Kayla nodded. “Thank you.”

“Yep.”

“Will you at least tell me what happened?”

Nicole looked down at her hands, “Someone knows about my tattoo and uh, they wanted to ruin it.”

“Do they know who your soulmate is?”

Nicole took a shaky breath, “Can we talk about something else?”

“Does Waverly know?”

“She found me.” Nicole said, embarrassed. Waverly saw her at her weakest, bleeding and disoriented, unable to stand up for herself. If she couldn’t stand up for herself, how could she ever stand up for either of them?

“Knowing her, she’s going to lose her shit on whoever did this to you.” Kayla said. “You do know she won’t stop until she finds out, right?”

“Well, it won’t be coming from me.”

“ _Nicole.”_

“I just need some more time, okay?” Nicole said. “It’s hard enough admitting that I was assaulted over something I can’t control. I… I’ve never been so scared in my life, Kay and I hated it.”

“That’s why you need to tell someone, someone who can do something about it.” Kayla said. “What if they do it again?”

“They won’t.” Nicole said. “Just… can I wrap my head around it first?”

“As long as you promise to take this seriously and not sweep it under the rug.”

“I- I promise.”

Kayla pulled Nicole into a hug, careful not to hurt her younger sister. “I can’t lose you, Cole, okay? You’re my best friend, even if you annoy the hell out of me sometimes and can outdrink me.”

Nicole smiled softly, “I’m glad your home.”

“Me too.”

“I’m still so angry with you though.”

“I know.”

**_ Tuesday: May 7th, 2019 – 8:34AM _ ** ****

****

“Honey, you look exhausted.” Mack said, a small smile on his face as he looked at his wife over Facetime.

“I didn’t sleep much last night.” Laura admitted; she didn’t like to worry her husband, but she knew he needed to know about Nicole’s attack. “Mack, I- Nicole was hurt yesterday.”

“What?” Mack’s eyes widened at the news, a fear in his eyes. “Laur, tell me she’s okay. Please tell me our little girl is safe.”

“Someone assaulted her with a knife!” Laura said, tears in her eyes. “Waverly found her right after it happened, and I had her bring her to me. You know how she is with hospitals and Waverly said she was being a smartass, so I knew it wasn’t too awfully bad.”

“Who did it?” Mack asked, unable to hide the anger in his voice.

“I don’t know.” Laura ran a hand through her hair. “She wouldn’t tell us no matter how hard we tried. She… she doesn’t think it’s important because it was personal but-”

“I’ll be on the first flight out tonight.” Mack told her.

Laura shook her head, “She’s okay, honey. Just has a pretty bad gash. I stitched her up and Waverly stayed the night, so I’m sure she’s in good hands.”

“How’s Waverly?” Mack asked. “Finding Nicole like that, it must’ve been scary.”

“She was calm actually, but you could tell she was worried.” Laura said. “We both are. I know Nicole wants to act like nothing’s wrong but it’s like she’s trying too hard not to care. I know she’s eighteen, but she shouldn’t be silent about this.”

“No, she shouldn’t.” Mack sighed. “Just… give her some, okay? You know if we push too hard she’ll shut down. Cole is hardheaded and sometimes doesn’t realize how special she is. Let it settle in, bring it up to her when you can and I’m sure she’ll do the right thing. Whoever hurt her, I’ll make sure they’re dealt with the second I find out.”

“Sweetheart, you need to take it easy.”

Mack clenched his jaw; he was a fun, easy-going man but played no games when it came to his family. “You find out anything, you let me know?”

Laura nodded. “I will.”

“Good.” Mack clasped his hands together. “You okay, love?”

“I could’ve really used you last night.” Laura said. “Seeing our daughter like that, it broke my heart. I know I’ve been a nurse for 20 years and maybe I should’ve told Waverly to take her to the hospital but… I just, I wanted to be there for her because I’ve not been there lately.”

“You haven’t?”

“Work is crazy.” Laura said. “We’ve been slammed, and I feel like I’ve been neglecting her. I wanted to be there for her for once.”

“Your intentions were good.” Mack said. “You took care of Cole and that’s all that matters, alright? Look, I gotta go, but you’ll keep me updated?”

“Nicole may be quiet about this, but I won’t, and I have a feeling that Waverly won’t be either. She may be tiny but she’s a firecracker.”

Mack laughed at that, “She’s good for her, isn’t she?”

“The best person.” Laura agreed, a small smile on her face. “I just hope they figure it out for themselves soon.”

“They will.” Mack assured her. “Alright, now I really have to go.”

“Bye, love.”

**_ Tuesday: May 7th, 2019 – 1:13PM _ ** ****

****

“Hey Wave, wait up!”

Waverly paused just a few feet away from her English class and turned to face Champ, an eyebrow raised in question. “Uh, hey Champ.”

Champ rubbed the back of his neck, bottom lip between his teeth, “Can we talk?”

“Sure. What about?”

Champ looked at the busy hallway and swallowed thickly, “No, like, can we talk privately, away from everyone?”

Waverly narrowed her eyes; Champ wasn’t one to be nervous and he never used to care about privacy, whatever the reason. “O… kay.”

Champ grabbed her wrist and pulled her into an empty classroom; he shut and locked the door, pulling the blind down over the window. “There.”

Waverly leaned back against the door, arms crossing over her chest, “You’re acting weird, like, really weird.” She said. “If you’re trying to get back together with me, I thought we agreed to-”

“No, I-” Champ ran his hands down his face, sighing heavily. “I messed up.”

“If you slept with someone, you know I don’t care anymore, right?” Waverly asked; not that she ever really did in the first place.

“No, I… Nicole was stabbed because of me. I’m sure you already know about it because you’re soulmates or whatever and you’ve been tutoring her lately but-”

Waverly stared at him, jaw dropping open, “ _What?”_

“Did you not know she was your soulmate?”

“Of course I know!” Waverly advanced on him, hazel eyes blown wide, an anger pulsing in her veins she had never felt before. “What do you mean Nicole was stabbed because of you?”

“Well, I-”

Waverly shoved him hard, causing him to trip over his giant feet. “Tell. Me.” She hissed, shoving him once more.

Champ stumbled back, “Wave, stop! I’m tryin’ to explain!”

Waverly slapped him hard across the face, hissing in pain at the burn in her hand. Out of all the things Champ Hardy has done and will do, this is by far the worst thing. “I know you hate her, but you had _no_ right to assault her!”

“I didn’t mean for it to get so far!”

Waverly slapped him once more, “Is this how Nicole felt? Cornered, unable to escape from you? What gave you the right?”

Champ held his hands up, “Let me explain.”

“You assaulted someone, Champ, a defenseless person. Whether it was Nicole or freakin’ Chrissy Nedley, it doesn’t matter! You crossed a line!”

“I got a text!” Champ said, “Somebody texted me yesterday and told me that Nicole was your soulmate. I thought there was no possible way that was true because you’re you and she’s, well, her-” He flinched when Waverly raised her hand. “I just mean…”

“You mean what?” Waverly wasn’t a violent person but knowing that someone she trusted, someone she used to be in a relationship was able to do something so terrible, it sent her into a rage.

“They asked me to take care of her!” Champ said. “Me and a couple of the guys cornered her after practice yesterday, just to scare her. I was so angry at the fact that you were given such a shitty person as a soulmate and I wanted to scare her away from you. I pulled out a knife, just to mess with her-”

“You pulled out a knife?” Waverly shoved him again, although she didn’t get very far because he was already up against a wall. “Who gave you the god damned right to decide who is and isn’t good for me? You’re somebody’s soulmate and you can’t stay faithful to save your life! Do you think that your soulmate deserves you?”

“I, um-”

“If you didn’t stab her, who did?”

“I… I can’t tell you that.” Champ said, eyes on his boots. “Waverly, I wanted to tell you how sorry I am, that I didn’t mean for it to get so out of hand.”

“Whether you meant to or not, it still happened.” Waverly spat. “You had a knife on you, Champ, you clearly weren’t _just_ messing around!”

“Please, Wave, I’m trying to come clean here.”

“Only to make yourself feel better and clear your name.” Waverly said. “You may not have actually stabbed her, but you started it. I can’t believe you would stoop so low and hurt a person that I care about. If you were so concerned for me, why didn’t you talk to me first?”

Champ shrugged, “I don’t know.”

“You need to turn you and your buddies in.” Waverly said. “Or I will.”

Champ’s eyes widened, “Waverly, no, please! I have a scholarship for next fall and my parents will kill me if I lose it.”

“You should’ve thought about that before you committed a serious crime!” Waverly said. “I thought you were better than this!”

  
“I was. I _am_! That’s why I’m telling you what happened!”

“No, you’re telling me because you can’t handle the guilt and you think I’m going to stand by you. Well newsflash, James, I won’t!” Waverly said. “You need to turn yourself in.”

“Can’t I just apologize to her?”

“No.” Waverly said. “I don’t care how sorry you think you are; you crossed a line and I won’t let you get away with this.”

Champ huffed, his panic turning to anger, “Why are you protecting that stupid dyke anyways? She’s awful, you used to say so yourself!”  
  


“I didn’t know her then.” Waverly said. “Nicole is… she’s great, and kind, and she even shares the blankets with me on movie nights! You wouldn’t even share your popcorn with me!”

“What, are you two together?” Champ scoffed. “Disgusting.”

“Your five seconds from being punched in the face and you have the audacity to say those things to me?” Waverly tightened her grip on her backpack so she wouldn’t throttle him. “Nicole may not press charges, but I will. No one, and I mean no one deserves to be put in the position she was in yesterday.”

“It was a joke.”

“It wasn’t and you know it.” Waverly said. “You cornered her so she couldn’t escape, threatened her life and allowed one of your friends to harm her. I know you’ve done some shitty things, but this is unforgivable. I don’t ever want you to be a part of my life again.”

“Wave, please-”

  
“People are being killed every day for being who they are, for things that are out of their control and you thought it was a good idea to ‘joke’ with Nicole about something she has no control over.” Waverly shook her head. “I feel so sorry for you. You’re filled with so much hate and anger and I wish I would’ve realized it sooner so I could’ve cut you out of my life. If Nicole would’ve died, do you have any idea how much that would’ve hurt me? Did you ever even stop to think about what I would want?”

“I thought I was doing right by you!”

“Well, you weren’t.” Waverly shoved him once more, eyes hard. “Friday Champ, I mean it. You think I’m disgusting? Take a look in the mirror.”

///

**_ Tuesday: May 7th, 2019 - Evening _ **

“Waverly, you didn’t!”

“What else was I supposed to do, Nic, hmm? Was I supposed to thank him for hurting you and walk away? Did you want me to ignore what he told me and act like nothing ever happened?”

“Yes.”

Waverly threw her hands up in the air, “You’re insufferable!”

“You’re obnoxious!”

“You were hurt!” Waverly yelled. “You could’ve died!”

“I didn’t!”

Waverly ran a hand through her hair, “That doesn’t matter! Champ hurt you and he deserves to pay for it! He assaulted you, Nicole.”

“Yeah, but-”

“If you try to defend him, I swear I’ll never talk to you again.”

“I just… It’s a small town, Waverly, what do you think is going to happen? There were no witnesses. It was me and three other guys. It’s a he-said, she-said situation and with my reputation, no one is going to believe me.”

“You don’t know that.” Waverly said. “Champ told me-”

“He could turn around and say he didn’t.” Nicole said. “There’s no evidence.”

“Uh, your cut!”  
  


“Where’s the knife? The video? Do you really think if I walk into the station and tell Sheriff Nedley what happened, he’s going to do anything about it? It’s my word against theirs, Wave.”

“You should still tell Nedley, he’s a good man.”

“He still has to go by protocol.” Nicole said. “Can we please just drop it?”

“If he doesn’t turn himself in, I will, since you won’t.” Waverly said. “You may think that you aren’t worth fighting for, but you are.”

Nicole smiled softly. “Thanks, but-”

“Just take the compliment, Nic.”

Nicole nodded, “Sorry.”

“You scared me.” Waverly admitted. “The pain I felt was unbearable and all I could think about was finding you. I just knew something was wrong.”

“Really?”

Waverly nodded, “I kinda sorta fell off the pyramid because it hurt so bad.”

“Oh my God, are you okay?” Nicole gave the brunette a once over, unable to hide the worry on her face.

Waverly nodded, heart beating rapidly in her chest; Nicole was stabbed and she was only concerned about Waverly falling. “I’m fine.”

“Okay good.” Nicole sighed, relieved. “I don’t want you hurt.”

“I don’t want _you_ hurt either.” Waverly said. “I don’t ever want to feel that pain again. I felt like I was trapped, like I couldn’t breathe and it didn’t ease up until I found you and saw that you were okay.”

“What do you think that means?” Nicole asked, an eyebrow raised in question.

“What do you mean?”

“Our tattoos burning at the same time because I got hurt?” Nicole shrugged. “I’ve only heard about it a few times before, but I don’t know much about it.”

Waverly blushed and looked down at her hands, “They, uh, they say it only happens when a bond is really strong.”

“Well that’s fake news because you hate me.”

Waverly shoved Nicole gently, “I don’t hate you.”

“You kinda do.”

“Nicole!”

Nicole laughed, “I’m kidding.”

Waverly relaxed into the chair, “I don’t really know what it means but I wouldn’t be opposed to finding out?”

Nicole smiled down at her, “Me either.”

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me at misery-will-find-you.tumblr.com or @whatthefork20 on Twitter.


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